Brotherly Bonds
by Reign of Rayne
Summary: If there were any logical explanations for why he had woken up on Dawn Island with two achingly familiar faces leaning over him when he was supposed to be dead with a hole through his chest, Ace would've loved to hear them. In other news, the afterlife was apparently flammable.
1. Chapter 1

_Am I still over my Ace plot bunnies? No. Is this going to be another super-long story? No. As much as I love Ace, I have other fics to attend to. Don't worry, though. I'm still going to give this story my best shot. I don't know when the next chapter will be up, but expect it within 1-3 days._

* * *

Chapter 1 (Prologue, really, but who cares?)

He couldn't hear, couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't think. He could feel, though only in his chest, where an inferno burned and blistered, melting his heart and making him want to scream even though he had no voice to break the terrible silence. There was nothing by darkness and a weight on his entire body and pain and agony and _fire—_

 _"You promised!"_

A broken promise, an empty vow, nothing but worthless words said in ignorance.

 _"Don't kill me off so easily!"_

What did words like that mean now?

 _"Was I a good father?"_

Memories, broken and painful and jagged fragments of a life worth next to nothing in the end but—

 _"Of course you were!"_

He couldn't forget, couldn't let go, couldn't _give up_ so easily even after all he'd been through because—

 _"You promised!"_

Words held meaning after all and even with flames tearing through him he was an older brother and a son before anything else and he couldn't let go of his dreams, his hopes, his _life_ so easily—

 _"Because being alone is much worse than getting hurt!"_

Not when there were still people out there waiting for him, family— _a brother_ —that would be left alone in this world if he left and he couldn't do that, he wasn't that cruel, so even with the fire raging and his body burning and his mind scattering in a hundred thousand different directions he wasn't going to _leave_.

 _"And it'd be bad if I wasn't here?"_

There were things he had to do, people he had to see, places he had to visit and letting his life end here simply wasn't an option, it couldn't be, he wouldn't _let_ it be.

 _"You want me to live?"_

A single frozen moment, a single question left hanging, a single life dangling just out of reach.

 _"Of course I do!"_

He fought, kicked and punched and clawed and bit and screamed in defiance against the dark because he was rage and fire and _light_ and he was going to _live_ even if he had to burn everything to ashes to do it.

 _"No matter where we are or what we do, our bond will not be broken!"_

And the darkness went up in flames.

* * *

 _A/N You go, Ace._

 ** _Please review._**


	2. Chapter 2

_Here we go, the fun(ish) part. And wow, did you guys give this story a lot of support right off the bat. Jeez. I'm . . . a little overwhelmed, actually._

 _There shall be shameless self promotion on the bottom._

* * *

Chapter 2

"Here it comes! The storm is coming!" Ace grinned, his eyes alight with excitement as he held the wooden wheel in a strong grip and struggled to stand straight against the heavy wind blowing against him.

"If you're gonna come, then bring it on!" Sabo yelled, leaning over the empty window's edge next to Ace, a similar grin on his features. "Blow stronger!"

In answer, the winds whistled through the trees, whipping the branches back and forth and nearly drowning out the boys' daring words.

Luffy kept one hand on his hat to keep it in place and the other on the small pole holding the ASL pirate flag while he grinned and faced the storm from within the crow's nest that was nestled within the branches of the large tree. "Awesome! The wind keeps picking up!"

"Luffy!" Ace called. "Don't let the flag be torn off!"

"Losing your flag is the ultimate disgrace for a pirate!" Sabo added.

"Alright! Come at us, strong gust of wind!" Luffy's challenge flew in the air, the words whipped away almost immediately by the storm.

"Show us what you've got, great storm!" Ace yelled.

"Bring it, you jerk!" Sabo echoed.

Almost in response to the three boys' challenges, a particularly powerful gust of wind tore at their tree house base, making them squint their eyes and brace their bodies to stop themselves from being blown away.

Ace looked as close to giddy as he could get. "Here it comes!"

A sudden cry broke his enthusiasm and changed it to worry as Ace and Sabo turned, spotting Luffy dangling from the pole in the crow's nest by his stretched-out arms. "Luffy!"

"Are you all right?!" Ace called as he and Sabo ran to the side of the tree house nearest to where the crow's nest was.

"Save me!" Luffy shouted in response. Ace and Sabo grinned and began laughing.

"What are you doing, Luffy?" Ace asked. Luffy was unamused.

"Don't just laugh, help me!"

The boys just continued laughing even as the wind grew strong enough to rip some of the wooden boards off the tree house. Their laughter stopped abruptly, however, when a sudden explosion occurred on the horizon, in the direction of the ocean. For a second, the wind froze and the storm itself seemed to wait with bated breath as the blossom of fire spread in the distance, hypnotically beautiful, before the shockwave blew past Dawn Island and threw Luffy back into the tree house with enough force to send all three boys flying. They crashed into the far wall, knocked for a loop.

When they came back to their senses, the storm was already beginning to clear and the explosion had faded to nothing. Sunlight pierced through the heavy clouds and lit up leaves still dripping with rainwater that shone like stars when the light hit it just right.

"Amazing!" Luffy laughed, getting to his feet. "We made it through the storm!"

"Our base was wrecked, though," Sabo pointed out as he got to his feet as well, wincing and poking the tender section of his ribs that Ace had collided with.

"We'll deal with that later," Ace grunted, rubbing his head. He stood up as well after a second and looked around before grabbing his pipe. Sabo, raising an eyebrow, copied his example, followed by Luffy a moment later.

"Ace?" Sabo frowned. "Is something wrong?"

The black-haired boy grimaced. "I don't know. What was that explosion?"

"It was huge!" Luffy declared, waving his free hand for emphasis. Sabo glanced at the youngest boy before looking back at Ace.

"Do you want to check it out?"

Ace nodded. "Of course!"

Luffy grinned. "Let's go!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Wow, it's been so long since we were here!" Luffy said, looking around the cove with wide eyes. Ace merely grunted as he picked his way across the beach, wary of driftwood that had washed up in the storm.

"What're the odds that this was the closest place to the explosion?" Sabo mused, offering Luffy a small smile. Ace was in one of his not-so-rare serious moods, and Sabo was well enough acquainted with them to know that trying to weasel an actual conversation out of the freckled boy was a wasted effort.

They hadn't been to this cove since they had watched that pirate captain—Naguri was his name—set sail to find his crew. Both Sabo and Luffy had nostalgic smiles on their faces, while Ace's was set in a glower at nothing in particular.

The trio made it to the water's edge soon enough and stared out at the sparkling waters, so different now than they had been an hour before. Instead of dangerous, massive waves the ocean was now just calm swells lapping at shore. Luffy stared at it before dipping a toe in the water.

"Luffy!" Sabo chastised as he caught the suddenly weak and limp boy and dragged him away from the water.

"S-so tired," Luffy groaned, only to recover a second later.

"What were you expecting?" Ace asked, glancing at Luffy with an irritated expression. Luffy just grinned, knowing that buried beneath Ace's frown was a fondness the boy kept hidden. Luffy didn't know how he knew that. He just did. He decided to call it a mystery and go from there; after all, mysteries were cool, and Ace was cool, so it worked out. Probably. Was that driftwood shiny? Nope, just water. Luffy frowned in disappointment as he began walking down the small cove's beach, making sure to keep away from the water while Ace and Sabo explored the things that had washed up on shore to see if there was anything interesting.

Something hard got in the way of Luffy's foot and he yelped, falling flat on his face and then bouncing back to his feet. Spitting out the sand that had worked its way into his mouth and adjusting his hat, Luffy glanced down at whatever he had tripped over. His eyes widened.

"Ace! Sabo!"

The two older boys came running over. "What is it, Luffy?" Sabo asked, stopping by Luffy. Luffy directed his gaze down and Ace and Sabo followed it.

"Wow," Sabo breathed, crouching down and running a hand down the object. "That's . . . really cool!"

"Where would a dagger like this come from?" Ace wondered, picking up the sheathed dagger. He raised an eyebrow at the green color and then at the weight. "Heavy."

But Luffy was already looking somewhere else, his attention span having switched the moment he realized that the mystery object was just a dagger. His eye caught a flash of orange and he ran towards it, jumping over and making his way around the scattered driftwood with impressive speed. His eyes landed on the hat and he picked it up, pipe slung over one shoulder to leave his hands free.

Luffy hummed a random tune to himself as he examined the bright orange hat and the two blue faces on it. The hat was in remarkably good condition given the storm, though instead of thinking on that Luffy again called it a mystery and moved on. Turning around again, he jogged back to Ace and Sabo, waving the hat in the air like a trophy.

"Look what I found!" Luffy called, his smile infectious. Sabo glanced up while Ace held the dagger up to examine it further using the sunlight.

"Luffy, how are you finding all of this?" Sabo asked, a matching grin on his face. "You're so lucky!"

"It's a mystery!"

Sabo laughed. "It sure is! So, what did you find this time? A hat?"

"Yup! Look, it's so orange!"

This time, Ace glanced over at them, about to say something only to pause and frown. Noticing this, Sabo's expression darkened, sensing the plunging of Ace's mood. "Hey, Ace? Is something wrong?"

"Over there," Ace replied, urgency sliding into his tone. "Is that . . ." He took off without finishing, the dagger still clutched in his grasp. Exchanging a glance, Luffy and Sabo took off after him, struggling to match the other's boy's speed.

"Ace, wait up!" Sabo called.

"Slow down!"

Ace didn't offer a reply but he did stop, skidding to a halt and throwing sand into the air as he let the things he was holding drop to the ground.

"Stay back, Luffy," Sabo ordered as he followed Ace into the surf. Luffy set his jaw and quickly pulled the boys' discoveries out of the range of the ocean before settling down to watch as they examined something floating in the water. It didn't look like wood.

"Sabo!" Ace said, and now his voice carried hints of panic, enough so that Sabo doubled his pace, sloshing through the water. It was nearly up to his chest by the time he reached Ace. His eyes widened when he realized what the thing floating in the water was.

It was a body.

"Let's drag him to shore, quickly!" Sabo suggested, already grabbing a leg and tugging. Ace followed suit and after almost a minute of tugging the two boys managed to drag the body onto the beach.

"His chest isn't moving," Sabo observed, kneeling next to the body. "He doesn't look that old, either. Do you think he's a pirate?"

"Don't know," Ace said brusquely, "but I don't think he's dead." To verify his words, Sabo checked the man's pulse and gasped.

"You're right! Hurry, we need to get the water out of his lungs!"

"It's a good thing . . . Luffy almost drowns . . . so often," Ace grunted as he worked, eyeing the youngest boy for a second. "It gave us . . . experience."

"Hey!" Luffy protested. "It wasn't intentional!"

"A few times you leaped into the water because you wouldn't wait for us to pick a better route," Sabo commented while he rifled through his pockets. Pulling out a roll of bandages, he caught Ace's raised eyebrow. "We fight a lot," Sabo said defensively. "It never hurts to be prepared." Ace shrugged.

"He's bleeding from . . . well, everywhere. Can you just wrap him up?"

"Like a mummy!" Luffy declared. Ace opened his mouth to refute Luffy's words, but then paused and shrugged.

"Whatever works."

Sabo nodded, rolling out some of the bandages, only to freeze when the man started coughing and sputtering, his whole body seizing as it tried to rid itself of the water. Ace scrambled back and Luffy stepped forward, childish wonder written all over his features.

"Well," Sabo commented hesitantly, one hand clutching his pipe, "he's definitely not dead."

The man's coughs died away and he tried to sit up, his eyes still closed, only to fall back down when his muscles gave out.

"Can't . . . move . . . " He muttered, his voice scratchy and raw and almost painful to listen to.

"H—hey!" Sabo said, leaning over the man. "You can't move! We just pulled you out of the ocean, you know!"

"Yeah!" Luffy said. "The ocean's dangerous!"

Ace took a step closer, expression wary and eyes glimmering with wariness. They didn't know anything about this man; he could have been dangerous for all they knew.

The man opened his eyes, revealing washed-out gray irises and dilated pupils. He squinted against the sun and then turned his head painfully to one side to look at the concerned faces of Luffy and Sabo.

Sabo could have sworn that he saw recognition on the man's face. He blinked, opened his mouth to ask a question (what could he ask, anyway?), only to be beaten to the punch.

"Who are you? What's your name? Are you a pirate?"

" _Luffy_!" Ace hissed. The youngest boy went quiet instantly.

The man just kept staring at Luffy, his gaze unfocused and practically feverish. His lips parted as he drew in a raspy breath and he looked to be trying to say something, but only the sound of his breathing came out.

"Hey, what is it?" Sabo asked, leaning closer and looking even more worried. "Are you okay? Can you talk? What happened?"

Again, the man tried to say something, but he was defeated as his eyes rolled back into his head and his body went limp.

"Well, that answers whether he's okay or not," Ace declared, unfazed by the man's abrupt return to unconsciousness.

"What should we do with him?" Sabo asked, still holding the roll of bandages and looking uncertain. "I mean, we shouldn't just leave him here."

Ace blinked. "Why not?"

Sabo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He doesn't seem dangerous—he's close to death, anyway, and I think he has a fever."

Luffy, jumping at the chance to join the discussion, quickly checked the man's forehead and nodded. "He's really warm!"

"See?" Sabo looked pleadingly at Ace. "I don't feel right just leaving this guy here."

"He would probably survive," Ace said, but he was wavering.

"We'll bring him to the treehouse," Luffy declared. Ace and Sabo rounded on him.

"Who said this was your decision?!" They demanded, their anxiety and tension over the situation exploding all at once. Luffy pouted.

"Because!"

All at once, Sabo and Ace's energy vanished and they both sighed. "Fine."

Sabo grinned. "Yes!"

"Don't look too happy," Ace said, rolling his eyes. "You're carrying him. And tying him up."

"Tying him up? Oh, yeah."

"Wait, why?" Luffy asked, his eyes wide and curious. "Is he dangerous?"

"We don't know," Ace said. "He could be, so it never hurts to be safe."

"Oh." Luffy tried and failed to assume a sagely expression. "I see."

Sabo laughed, some of his nervous tension fading. "You look ridiculous, Luffy. Now come on and help me. Ace, you can at least carry that dagger and hat."

"Why?"

"I bet they're his. Where else would they have come from?"

"Oh. Yeah, okay."

"You okay? You sound tired."

Ace shrugged, his gaze flicking to the unconscious man stretched out on the sand, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. "It's nothing. Just an odd feeling."

Sabo nodded, sensing that Ace was telling the truth as much as he could. Some things couldn't be explained in words, after all.

"After this," Ace said, "we'll go to the Gray Terminal and get some supplies to fix up our fort, okay?"

The other two boys nodded their agreement.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Sabo! Just run! We'll be fine! We were gonna share our freedom together, remember?!"

"Sabo! Don't go!"

"Are you gonna let it end like this?! Sabo!"

" _Sabo_!"

* * *

 _A/N Don't get me wrong, I love Sabo. He's got a great character. But I wanted this story to take place during a specific time frame and this just happened to fit. This story's probably going to go all the way to Luffy setting off to sea when he's seventeen or thereabouts. I'm not entirely sure and this is only the second chapter, so things could change drastically in the future._

 _Next chapter will be out within a few days. There is no update schedule, so things will vary. A lot._

 _And here's the shameless self-promotion: If you haven't already, you should check out my other One Piece stories, both of which are complete. Both involve Ace, because, well, yeah._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	3. Chapter 3

_I have no idea what the update schedule for this is. I'm 99% sure there is none at this point and that there never will be. Anyway, I'm happy to see that you guys like this story!_

* * *

Chapter 3

"I wonder what Sabo's doing."

Ace glanced in Luffy's direction. "Shut up. Just sleep."

It was late, and the sounds of the forest had dimmed in favor of the chirping of crickets. There was no wind that night—the calm after the storm—but neither Ace nor Luffy was in the mood to comment. A cloud of gloom—though neither was acknowledging it—hung over them, dampening their thoughts and darkening their moods. Their thin sheets did little to keep out the nightly chill in the air.

Ace closed his eyes. "We promised to forget about Sabo for now, right?"

"Alright," Luffy agreed quietly, rolling over and drawing his blanket up higher.

"He might be happier this way," Ace added.

"Sabo . . ."

Frowning, Ace sat up, his brother's name already out of his mouth before he realized that the younger boy was sprawled out, his eyes closed, asleep.

"Telescope . . ." Luffy muttered again, his eyes remaining firmly shut. Ace let out a breath, his expression softening just barely. He then put Luffy's blanket back over him to make sure that he wouldn't catch cold. Once that was done, Ace's gaze wandered to the other unconscious person in the room, tied to a pillar on one of the walls. Ace had made sure that the man would be almost incapable of moving once he woke up, but for now that seemed unlikely.

They'd cleaned and bandaged his wounds as best they could—and their experience with injuries due to sparring and fights with the indigenous wildlife had helped immensely in that regard—before settling him in their tree house. The man had a fever, and Ace padded over to the bucket of fresh water near him, dipped the rag in it, and laid the cool cloth over the man's forehead. The stranger tensed and then relaxed, muttering something unintelligible in his sleep.

His face was washed out and pale, his freckles—so much like Ace's—standing out starkly against his sickly skin. The breaths he took seemed to be harsher than they should have been and every now and then the man switched, his whole face contorting in pain before it relaxed again. Ace sighed. Sabo (gone now, why did those assholes have to take him back?) had already bandaged most of the man's body, leaving little save the man's face visible.

And for some reason, Ace couldn't stop a strange sense of déjà vu from overtaking him whenever he looked at the man for too long.

After staring at the man for a few minutes, irritated at the puzzle of his existence and how strangely _obligated_ to take care of him he felt, Ace turned away and went back to his sheets, managing to fall asleep almost immediately.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

He couldn't breathe. His lungs burned, his throat burned, his chest burned - it all burned.

He was fire, he was heat, he was flame. So why was he burning? Why did it _hurt_?

He tried to breathe, sucked in air, but it tasted like smoke and ash and screams and he coughed it back out, chest constricting and eyes watering in response to the agony that engulfed his midsection.

Something bright burned beyond his eyelids, lighting up his world is swirling hues of red and orange and gold but he couldn't figure out what the hell was going on until another wave of heat slammed into him, making him let out a muffled cry when smoke and ash blew over some of his wounds and worked its way under his bandages. Something was burning, and it wasn't just him.

He couldn't open his eyes. He wanted to; something was screaming _danger danger run_ in his head and he wanted to know _why_ but his body wasn't listening to him. He just had to twitch; he tried, tried so hard, but his fingers would not move and his eyes would not open and his body would not fucking _listen_.

He wanted to yell his frustration but his voice was not his to use; it was commandeered by the pain and agony rioting in his chest.

He tried again to get up. He failed.

A yawning abyss opened up beneath him and no matter how much he battled to stay on the surface he sank faster and faster. He was swallowed up almost instantly and unconsciousness met him like an old friend, holding him tightly as his struggles faded to nothing.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Luffy barely remembered to stop by the tree house while waiting for Ace to come home. Worry bore down on him and followed him everywhere like a menacing shadow and no matter how much Luffy tried to tell himself that Ace was fine doubts surfaced and threatened to make him a complete mess.

But that injured man was still unconscious and needed help, so Luffy checked on him twice a day, making sure to feed him some broth and give him water. He wasn't sure how much he was supposed to give the man, so he guessed and hoped for the best, trying to remember how much Ace and Sabo had given him. Thoughts of Ace and Sabo made Luffy want to cry all over again, but he worked through it.

Luffy was barely able to walk on his own, so he enlisted the help of Magra and Dogra. The two were dubious at best, wondering why Luffy wanted to go to the tree house—they hadn't told the bandits about the strange man yet, never had time and for some reason didn't want to—but allowed it, thinking it would be best for the boy to do something instead of wallowing in misery and worry.

The man was looking better and better, though, so Luffy felt a little rewarded for his efforts. His skin wasn't as pale anymore and the pained expressions he always made while unconscious were occasionally giving way to an almost peaceful expression. For some reason, Luffy found himself being reminded of Ace, but he couldn't put his finger on why. He supposed that the man _did_ look an awful lot like Ace, especially with those freckles and the black hair that hung in wavy strands around his face.

Luffy was checking on the man for the fourth time, two days after the fire in the Gray Terminal, making sure the guy had some of the simple broth he'd learned how to make from one of the bandits. The entire check-up went smoothly and, once finished, Luffy made his way back to the bandit's house, ignoring the bandits' confused looks. With every step he took, his mood dampened, until there was practically a dark cloud hanging over him. The bandits stayed away from him, except for Dogra, who asked if he was feeling okay.

"I want Ace to come back."

They all left him alone after that, though out of respect or worry Luffy didn't know. He just parked himself in the corner near the entrance and waited, his hat shadowing his eyes. The bandits around him looked just as depressed and a strange pallor hung over the entire group. They sat in silence.

It was all he could do.

The quiet was abruptly shattered when a bandit ran through the doorway, panting. "Hey!" Everyone glanced up except Luffy, who was only listening with half an ear. "Hey, guys! They've . . ." The man paused to breathe, his hands on his knees while he recovered his breath.

Magra, who had been sitting nearby, stood up, as did the men near him. "What is it?"

The bandit finally got his voice back and looked up, joyful tears in his eyes. "They've returned!"

Those words might as well have been a gunshot; they startled the bandits into action and they all scrambled to get out the door first, only succeeding in blocking the exit. Luffy, fueled by a desperate energy, shoved through them, Magra and the other bandits hot on his heels.

He was met with the sight of an injured and limping Ace staggering forward step by step with an equally battered Dadan draped across his back. The sight would have been comical had it not been so serious.

Ace had a wild look in his eyes as he panted, looking forward but not entirely seeing the bandit's hideout. Dadan seemed to have her wits about her, but both were clearly exhausted.

"Hooray!" The bandits cheered, running forward. Magra hung back, a concerned expression on his face that rapidly switched to a tearful one.

"Ace . . . Boss . . ."

"Those injuries look horrible . . . Hurry!" A bandit said. "Tend to the Boss's wounds!"

It only took a few minutes for the bandits to sort everything out. Dadan was more injured than Ace, and while the black-haired boy changed shirts Luffy cried behind him. Unable to take it anymore, Luffy cried Ace's name and leaped forward, wrapping Ace in a tight hug.

"Luffy!" Ace said instantly, a shocked and somewhat irritated expression on his face that became serious after he looked at the distraught boy's expression. "Did you think I was dead?"

Luffy managed to pull himself together a little and unwrapped himself from Ace, trying and failing to wipe away his tears. He could do nothing to hide how his voice was choked with emotion when he talked. "But . . ."

"What're you crying for?!" Ace demanded, whacking Luffy over the head. "Don't act like I'm dead when I'm not, you idiot!"

"Now, now," Magra said from Dadan's side, "let him be. Luffy is just happy."

Ace stared at his younger brother and let out a deep breath, a conflicting expression on his face. Then he sighed and moved to sit by Dadan.

"Fine."

"Um, Ace, about the night of the fire," a bandit began, "what happened to you and the Boss when you stayed behind?"

Ace glanced up. "After you left, we fought Bluejam. We managed to defeat him somehow, and then we tried to catch up with you guys as fast as we could, but by that time the path had already been blocked by flames. We made it out of the fire, but Dadan suffered horrible burns. We found a hiding spot where the fire wouldn't reach us, by the river in the Middle Forest. I went into the city in order to steal medicine and get some food. Then I tried desperately to keep Dadan alive. When I was sure she wasn't gonna die, I carried her back here."

"Now, now, so that's what happened?" Magra looked thoughtful. "Well, I'm glad you both made it out alive."

"I'm sorry I made you worry," Dadan said softly.

Ace glanced down at her and then looked back up. "I never thought something like this could happen in the Gray Terminal. I'm sure Sabo is worried."

The bandits, Ace, and Luffy spent the next few hours resting. Ace stayed by Dadan's side, head buried in his knees. Dadan glanced over at him, a question on her lips.

"Ace, back then . . . why didn't you run?"

Ace lifted his head, an odd yet intense look on his face. "Sometimes, my blood just starts rushing to my head. I feel like, if I run, I'll lose something important. Back then . . . Luffy was right behind me." He half-grimaced, rubbing his head and messing up his hair. "I'm don't know for sure, but I think that's why."

Their talk was interrupted a few minutes later when Dogra entered the hideout, his features pale and haunted. When he spoke, the words he uttered made Ace stand up, his face draining of color.

"W-what?" He stammered, his shock mirrored on the faces of everyone present. "Sabo is . . ." His surprise shifted into anger in a heartbeat. "You liar!" He cried, tackling Dogra. "Don't even joke about something like that!"

"It's not a lie, nor a joke!" Dogra gasped. "It was so sudden, I barely realized what had happened! I doubted my own eyes! I wondered if it was just a dream or illusion!"

"Shut up!" Ace snapped. "Sabo went back to his noble-born parents! There's no way he'd sail out to sea!"

"That's right!" Luffy stepped forward, desperate for Ace to be right. "Sabo went home—"

Dogra interrupted, one hand weakly wrapped around Ace's arm, which was did little to weaken the grip Ace had around his throat. Despite that, Dogra slowly struggled into a sitting position and then pushed Ace back. "Outlaws like us understand how he must have felt. We all have places we really don't want to go back to! Do you really think he'd go out to sea if he was actually happy?" Tears began building in the bandit's eyes. "Do you really think he'd fly a pirate flag and set out on his own?!"

Ace was shaking, and it wasn't because of the suddenly chilly Spring breeze blowing in through the open window. Luffy's eyes began to tear up as well and he uttered Sabo's name, quickly breaking into sobs. "He really wasn't happy!"

Ace fell back and clutched his head, squeezing his eyes shut to drive away the pain in his heart. "Why?" He muttered. "Why didn't we try to break him out of there?!" He had Dogra by the collar of his shirt in an instant. "Where is the person who killed Sabo? I'm gonna murder him!"

"T-the Tenryuubito?!" Dogra stammered. "There's no way you can do th—" the bandit didn't even finish his sentence before Ace dropped him and ran for the door, grabbing his pipe on the way.

"I'm gonna avenge his death!"

Dadan stopped him, slamming the young boy's head into the floor. "Drop it, you damn brat!"

Ace struggled, flipping onto his stomach and pushing Dadan's hand away. "Get off me!" He was bleeding again but didn't seem to care or even notice. "Don't get in my way!"

Dadan held his shoulders down, preventing him from leaving. "You keep acting tough, even though you don't have any real strength! What the hell do you think you can do now?! You'll just end up dead! You'll die, and everyone will forget about you by tomorrow! That's all you amount to right now! It was this kingdom that killed Sabo! It was the world itself!" Dadan lifted Ace by his shirt and began shaking him. "What can you do?! Your father's death brought about a new era! Once you become a man of his caliber, then you're free to live and die as you want!" Dadan turned to her fellow bandits. "Go tie up this moron!"

Luffy was crying in the background as the bandits took Ace outside and tied him tightly to a tree, making sure that he wouldn't do something stupid while in the throes of grief.

"Sabo!" Luffy cried, tears still streaming down his face. Ace could hear him, even outside, and he grit his teeth.

"Shut up! Men aren't supposed to be sobbing like that, Luffy!"

But Luffy could do nothing to stop and his wails carried on for hours, disrupting the oddly quiet night.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

The next day, Sabo's final letter arrived.

Ace allowed himself to cry for the first time.

He never told anyone about it. He had to be strong, after all. Strong for Luffy.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

 _"Listen up, and remember this, Luffy! I will not die! Sabo made that request too. I promise. I will not die! There's no way I'd die and leave behind a weakling of a brother like you!"_

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

 _"So, listen close, Luffy! We will definitely live life without regrets! Someday, we will set out to sea, and live life the way we want to! With more freedom than anyone else! I'm sure that will make lots of people our enemies . . . Gramps will become our enemy, too. We'll be risking our lives._

 _"We'll cast off when we turn seventeen! We will become pirates!"_

* * *

A/N _Right. Well, nothing too big happened this chapter (in regards to the adult Ace; I mean, Sabo did "die"). Next chapter, Ace will wake up and stuff happens. I know this is a bit of a slow start, but I'm enjoying the shorter chapters. I can update more often like this._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	4. Chapter 4

_I've got this feeling that Ace is one scary dude when he's genuinely pissed off. Like, even more than when he was angry at Blackbeard. I mean, he tried to kill Luffy several times over. Tendencies like that don't just fade away. Just a thought; it'll probably come into play in later chapters._

 _Yes, this chapter is short. I know. I couldn't make it any longer without disrupting my plan for the next chapter._

* * *

Chapter 4

He wasn't sure when he began to hear the voices. No, he was pretty sure he wasn't going insane, but there was a constant murmur in his ears, punctuated every few minutes by shouts or cries of pain. They sounded oddly familiar but he didn't know why, couldn't place them in his fragmented memory. Everything was so bright, so harsh, even though he hadn't even opened his eyes yet.

But he was healed. Deep within, he knew at least that much. The fire that had _burned_ him like no other fire had before was gone, sucked back to whatever dark place it had crawled out from. He could feel his Devil Fruit powers bubbling beneath the surface, rekindled now that his complete exhaustion had worn off. Whatever he had done to chase that darkness away at first had wiped his energy practically out of existence.

He felt tired. A strange weariness had settled over his mind like a fog and his body might as well have been made of lead. Something told him that it could have been much worse; he'd been unconscious for a long time, but someone had taken care of him.

Who? The owners of the voices?

He needed to know whom those voices belonged to. He couldn't just lie there. After a minute of intense focusing, he was finally able to figure out what the voices were saying. It sounded like there were only two people talking, so that made the conversation easier to follow, at least.

"We can't just leave him here! We'll take him to Dadan's Country!" The voice sounded . . . odd. It tickled at Ace's memory, nagging at him. He should recognize it, but at the same time it wasn't any voice he knew.

"I'm not saying we should leave him here!" That voice was higher-pitched and Ace recognized it instantly. There was no way he wouldn't.

Luffy.

"Then what _are_ you saying?!"

"We've gotta move him!"

"That's what _I've_ been saying, you idiot!"

"Oh. You should've been clearer!"

He could hear the sound of a sigh and then the voices became lower, fading into a dull murmur. Behind them, the sounds of a forest drifted to his ears. Birds chirping and the soft rustling of leaves made nostalgia invade his every thought and he wondered just where the hell he'd ended up.

And why was he with Luffy, and why the hell did Luffy sound so _young_? And who was he arguing with?

He groaned. He had too many questions.

A sudden silence made him pause.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah. He groaned."

"Is he finally waking up? He's been sleeping _forever_!"

"I dunno, Luffy."

Soft footsteps approached him and he mentally cursed, wondering if he should have pretended to still be unconscious until the two people left. Then again, one of them was Luffy, so he discarded that option. With his thoughts somewhere along the lines of "fuck it", twenty-year-old Portgas D. Ace opened his eyes.

And immediately swore. "Dammit! Bright!" His eyes adjusted after a minute and Ace looked around, tilting his head until his gaze landed on the two wide-eyed boys standing less than a meter away.

Instantly, the young freckled boy's shocked look changed to a menacing glare while the other boy maintained his curious gaze.

Ace blinked and then sat up, swaying for a second as the blood rushed to his head and made his vision swim. He tried to bring a hand to his head to help with his sudden headache only to find that it was bound behind his back. After a quick check, Ace realized that it was ordinary rope. There was more rope around his ankles and some binding his arms close to his body. Without thinking, he burned it all off and then rubbed his wrists, noting that they were red and chafed. He must have been tied up for a while, though the chafing wasn't only in one area; he'd been moved around a lot while unconscious, apparently.

It would explain why he felt relatively okay. He felt weaker than normal, but not to the extent that he had been expecting.

Ace's eyes crossed when a pipe was shoved in his face. He stared at the end for a second before following the weapon back up to its owner, the same surly kid that Ace _knew_ but couldn't place. It was bugging the hell out of him but he just couldn't figure it out.

"Uh—" Ace didn't know what to say—"Hello?" He looked around, taking in the shoddy wooden floor and walls. That nagging feeling that he was missing something important wouldn't go away but he pushed it aside for now. He had more important things to deal with. Gently shoving the pipe away from his face, Ace did as much of a bow as he was capable of. "Thank you for taking care of me. I made a mistake and got hurt."

Oh, it was so much more than that, but he couldn't dwell on the details when he was barely keeping himself conscious.

He was kind of just assuming that these two were the ones to take care of him because, well, _Luffy_. His thought process stalled whenever he tried to think any more deeply than that.

When he lifted his head, he found both boys staring at him with varying amounts of disbelief. Luffy looked—

 _Young. Very, very young._

Ace stared at him and barely remembered to blink. Yes, that was definitely Luffy. He looked— _seven? Eight?_

Something like that.

 _"I'll save you even if it kills me!"_

Ace winced as memories of screams and the clashing of metal and bullets and blood invaded his mind and he clutched his head, hissing through his teeth until he could think straight again.

This time, when he looked up, the boys had moved to the opposite side of the tree house, both of them wary. Ace blinked. "What?"

"You—you were on _fire_ ," Luffy said, his features filled with an odd mix of fear and wonder.

"What the hell was that?" The other boy demanded. "People don't just randomly start on fire!"

Ace scratched his head, unable to understand why they were freaking out. Then again, he'd been with people who understood his powers since he got them, so maybe he just never had experience with freaked-out little kids.

"Uh, Devil Fruit?"

Luffy looked interested now, his previous fear evaporating almost instantly. "Which one? I ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi! I'm a rubber person, see?" He hooked one finger on the inside of his mouth and pulled, stretching his face out way more than he should have been able to. Ace smiled fondly at the familiar sight.

"The Mera Mera no Mi."

Almost instantly, the older-looking of the two boys swung his pipe at Ace. The metal staff passed right through Ace's midsection, leaving a trail of flames in its wake that quickly spread to the bandages on Ace's body, burning them away and leaving no sign that anything had happened to Ace at all. His injuries had healed while he was unconscious.

"Hey!" Ace protested. "You don't just go swinging pipes around like that! If I hadn't been wearing fireproof clothes—"

"I was testing your Devil Fruit," the boy replied. Ace twitched but forced himself to calm down. He was the one intruding, after all.

"Okay, fine, whatever. Can I ask your names?"

The older boy didn't even blink. "Not until you give yours. I don't trust you."

"Fair enough."

But Ace wasn't sure if he should give his real name. He didn't know where he was or who these people really were—though that one was _definitely_ Luffy and if Ace thought about _that_ for too long he began to get a headache so he was trying and failing to ignore it for now—but at the same time he was tired and couldn't be bothered to think up a random name. And that was _Luffy_. He couldn't lie to the kid.

 _"We're brothers!"_

He grinned and ran a hand through his hair, letting a sheepish smile spread across his features. "Well then, I should introduce myself properly. Pleased to meet you; Portgas D. Ace, Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, at your service."

* * *

 _A/N Next chapter should be out within the week. I hope._

 _WDW: Future!Sabo will be making an appearance. In the future (shocking, right?). In short, not for a very long time. But I think I'm going to enjoy writing that little reunion._

 _Narya Anima: Your English is better than some of the native-speakers that have reviewed my other stories. Anyway, I can understand why you'd think that the ASL brothers would spend more time with the unconscious Ace, but to be fair, Ace is a stranger to them. They cleaned him up, made sure he wasn't going to die, and then put their base higher up on the priority list. They spent a lot of time on it, after all, so it's more precious to them than some guy that washed up on the beach. Unfortunately, the older Ace was unconscious during the entire Sabo incident, so there was no chance he could save him. Which sucks, because that would've been awesome._

 _Thank you to everyone who reviewed, especially you two (above). Questions are encouraged and I don't mind criticism, because I tend to leave plot holes._

 _Until next time,_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	5. Chapter 5

_There is a **very important** note at the bottom. Please read it when you're done with the chapter. _

_Did I do a disclaimer? No? Well then: I do not own One Piece and I make no money off this._

* * *

Chapter 5

"EHHHHHHHHHH?" Luffy's jaw had hit the floor and his eyes were almost comically big. Even the freckled kid's eyes had widened and his grip on his weapon had loosened, which was ironic given what Ace had just said. Usually, people brandished their weapons when they found out they were talking to a pirate, not the other way around. "A PIRATE? THAT'S AWESOME!"

"Hold it, Luffy," the other boy said, putting a hand in front of Luffy to stop him from doing something rash. "We don't know if he's lying or not. Either way, I don't trust him."

Ace's smile never wavered. "That's fine. But I can prove that I'm a pirate." He spun in place and jerked a thumb at his back. "See? That's the mark of the Whitebeard Pirates. It's my pride and joy."

"SO COOOOOOOOOL!"

"Luffy!"

"But Aaaaace, he even has the same name as you!"

Both the younger freckled boy and the older freckled boy froze and said, simultaneously, " _what_?"

Instantly, Ace rounded on the kid, his smile dropping. "What's your name?"

"Portgas D. Ace," the child replied, scowling. "You got a problem or somethin'?"

Ace blinked, mind reeling. "Uh, no. But _my_ name is Portgas D. Ace."

"I know! You just said that!"

"I'm just trying to figure out what the hell's going on, dammit!"

"Big Ace, you're smoking," Luffy said.

"Shit!" Ace cursed, quickly pushing back the rising heat on his skin. "Thought I got rid of that habit after Thatch—after . . . Thatch . . . Thatch!"

"Huh?"

But Ace was paying no mind to the younger Ace. There was a massive grin on his face, accompanied by a disturbingly manic light in his eyes. "Thatch is alive! He has to be! 'Cause if you're here, Luffy, and you're as young as I think you are—and if you're _really_ me from the past, which I can't find any reason to think you're not—then I'm in the past and Thatch is fucking _alive_!" Ace mentally patted himself on the back for figuring that one out without any more confusion and then his smile dropped from his face when he saw the two younger boys picking their noses, utterly disinterested. "Hey! Don't ignore me!"

"Why not?"

Ace scowled. "Brats."

"Asshole."

Their synchronization was almost impressive. But Ace had more pressing things to focus on at the moment, so he took a deep breath and smoothed out his expression, pushing his giddiness at the fact that _motherfuckin' Thatch was alive_ to the side to be revisited later (hopefully with alcohol).

"Okay, look," Ace said, adjusting his position and leaning against the wall while he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not entirely sure what's going on here. I'm pretty sure I'm in the past. I'd guess about nine or ten years back."

"So you're from the future?" Luffy asked, his eyes somehow going even wider. Ace swore he saw sparkles in them. "Awesome!"

The younger Ace—Little Ace, Ace decided, since referring to someone else by his name (even if he was him . . . dammit, this was already giving him a headache!) was confusing—blinked. "So you're from the future? So what? You can't seriously be me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Little Ace gave him a once-over and then looked away, scoffing. Ace's eyebrow twitched. "Hey!"

"It's nothing."

"It's obviously—you know what, I don't care. Whatever. Can you guys tell me how old you are?"

"I'm eight!" Luffy declared. "And Ace is eleven!"

"Nine years, then," Ace muttered, his expression taking on a shadowed cast. "Damn . . . I never really thought about how fast it went . . ."

"Did I become a great pirate?" Little Ace asked, his expression never changing.

Ace grinned savagely, no small amount of pride in his voice. "I had a bounty of over five hundred million beri."

Both Little Ace and Luffy's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their skulls. "O-o-o-over f-f-five h-h-hundred m- _million_?!"

Their reactions were enough to make Ace laugh out loud, recalling what he was like when he was young. He supposed that had he met a pirate worth so much while still on Dawn Island, he would've been surprised, to put it mildly.

Little Ace finally shook off his surprise and crossed his arms. "So you're really me?"

"Yeah."

Little Ace looked down, working his jaw for a minute before speaking. "What's with that tattoo on your arm?"

Ace immediately glanced down at his left arm, where his familiar ASCE tattoo declared his name in bold black letters. He brought up a hand and rested it over the crossed-out S, thinking.

"Is that for Sabo?"

Ace glanced up, surprised, at his younger counterpart. "Yeah. It is. How did—"

"Two weeks." Little Ace's tone was flat, his eyes shadowed and his body language as closed off as it could get. "Sabo died two weeks ago." Ace felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. "You showed up only a few days before that."

But Ace wasn't listening anymore. His eyes were unfocused, his jaw slack, and his arms falling to hang limply at his sides. He looked utterly vulnerable, so close to broken. "I—I was here. I should've—I—I could've saved him!" Unthinking, he slammed one hand into the wall, shattering it easily and making the two younger boys step back. Ace put one hand to his head, covering his eyes while traitorous tears leaked from them. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Dammit! I should've been there! Sabo, I'm so sorry! So sorry!"

Ace was startled from his grief when something hard and heavy slammed into the side of his head, sending him sprawling.

 _The hell?_ He put one hand to the new injury as he sat up and stared at his younger self, who was still gripping his staff with a raging fire in his eyes. _Haki . . .?_

"Shut up!" Little Ace yelled. "I don't want to hear anything like that coming from your stupid mouth!"

"Ace . . ." Luffy said, wiping away what could have been tears in his eyes. But the younger Ace was having none of it.

"Stay out of this, Luffy." He rounded on the Whitebeard Commander again. "And you, just shut up! You already mourned him once, didn't you? Don't do it again, you stupid idiot! And he isn't even _your_ brother to mourn; he's _mine_. Your brother d—died a long time ago." Little Ace's voice dropped to a threatening growl and he ignored his earlier stutter. "You don't really belong here, so don't act like anything that fucking happens is yours to change."

Ace swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. It still felt like he'd been sucker punched, but the feeling was slowly going away. What wasn't, however, was the persistent guilt. "I'm sorry," he said, his voice soft. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"Whatever." Little Ace looked away. "Anyway, now you've gotta fix the wall 'cause you punched it."

Ace glanced at the new hole and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Sorry. I'll definitely fix it."

"So what's the future like?" Luffy asked, all but bouncing in place now that the tension in the room had lifted. "Is it cool? Do I become a pirate? Is it awesome?"

Ace grinned fondly at his younger brother. "Yeah, it's cool and awesome. Luffy, you become an awesome pirate. I met your crew, too; they all seemed strong."

Luffy's eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "Really? Cool! I bet I make an awesome captain!"

"I'm sure you do."

"Can't you tell me any more?" Luffy asked. "Like who's in my crew! Tell me that!"

"Ah, I don't think I should," Ace mumbled. "It might screw things up, you know? Plus, it's _your_ adventure. Not my place to intervene."

"Aw." Luffy's disappointed pout turned into a smile almost immediately. "So what's your crew like?"

Ace's grin wavered, a fact that Little Ace didn't miss. "What happens?" he asks. Ace shrugged.

"Can't say."

"Come on!"

"Nope. Can't say it."

"Why not?"

"I don't know. Messing with the future? Anyway, I won't."

"Well, I know I join the Whitebeard Pirates. Why aren't you a captain?" Little Ace looked at his older self expectantly, only to be thoroughly disappointed with the answer.

"You'll find out."

"You're no fun!" Luffy declared. Ace ruffled his hair fondly, noting that the kid's straw hat was hanging over his back by a string that looked a little too frayed for comfort.

"You'll find out what happens some day, Luffy. It's better to learn yourself."

"I _know_!"

Ace laughed. "I'm sure you do."

 _"I'll save you even if it kills me!"_

This time, Ace managed to push back the memories but he still winced, one hand going instinctively to his chest. Little Ace's eyes narrowed.

"Are you still hurt? I thought your wounds healed a few days ago."

"No, I'm not," Ace said quietly. "It's nothing. Just—nothing but memories."

"Oh, yeah!" Luffy said, brightening. "I forgot to ask! Why are you here?"

"Gravity?"

"No! Why are you back in time? Is that a cool Devil Fruit ability or somethin'?"

Ace shrugged. "No idea."

"You don't know much of anything," Little Ace commented dryly. Ace shot him a look.

"I'm only twenty, you know."

"Old-timer."

"Hey!"

"Anyway, what're we supposed to do with you?" Little Ace asked. Ace shrugged.

"I could live here, in the tree house. I have to fix it, anyway."

"And if you're found?"

"I'm your long-lost brother from . . . somewhere."

"Where?"

"I dunno. The Gecko Islands?"

"What're those?"

"Never mind. You don't have to say where I'm from."

"What about Luffy? He's terrible at lying."

"I am not!"

Both the older and younger Ace gave Luffy the same flat look. "Yes, you are."

"Mean!"

"Shut up!"

"Anyway," Ace sighed, "I'll just live in the tree house. I can hunt on my own, so you guys don't have to worry about that. It should be fine."

"You'd better not break anything," Little Ace said. He then glanced at the hole in the wall. "Anything else," he amended.

"It was an accident! I apologize for causing trouble and I swear I'll make it better!"

"Aren't you a pirate?" Luffy asked.

"Ah, yeah. We already went over that."

"Why are you so polite?"

"I took lessons."

"Why?"

"To thank someone."

"Who?"

"You'll find out."

"Not that again!"

"Say," Ace said, glancing at his younger self. "You guys don't mind if I hang out with you, right? I've got nothing else to do."

Little Ace shrugged. "Do what you want. I don't care."

"We're gonna fight!" Luffy declared. Ace gave him an indulgent smile.

"Give it up, Luffy. You'll never beat me."

"Like hell! Just watch me, Old Timer!"

"I already told you I'm only twenty!"

"So?!" Luffy's challenge met no resistance. "Eh? Old Timer?"

"Did he just die?" Little Ace wondered, looking at his older counterpart, who had just fallen flat on his face and wasn't moving.

"EH? Don't say that!" Luffy cried. "He just woke up! He can't die so fast!"

"AND ANOTHER THING!" Ace suddenly yelled, his head shooting up and one hand raised as though he had a point to make. After a second of hesitation, he sighed, hand dropping back to his side. "Never mind. Thought of the wrong thing. Stupid Marco; always thinking his fire is cooler than mine." He glanced at his younger self and Luffy, who were both almost hyperventilating from shock. The sight was actually pretty funny. "What happened to you two?"

Little Ace swallowed his surprise. "You—were you asleep?"

"Oh, yeah. I guess I was. I have narcolepsy. It's a real bitch sometimes, honestly."

"You were in the middle of talking!"

"It happens."

Little Ace groaned but chose not to vocalize his thoughts, which were mostly centered on the idea of _I'm a total loser when I'm older_. Luffy, on the other hand, found the elder Ace's condition hilarious.

"Haha! I bet you even fall asleep when you're eating!"

"Sometimes. One time, I was even having pancakes and the syrup got stuck in my hair. Thatch—he's the head chef on the ship—was even trying out a new recipe, so it got stuck in my hair for a whole week."

"No way! A whole week?"

"Yup. Couldn't even burn it off. Smelled terrible after day four, too."

"Wow! Did it get stuck in your beard, too?"

"What are you talking about?" Ace laughed. "I don't have a beard!"

Wordlessly, Little Ace held up a shard of broken mirror that they had recovered from the Gray Terminal. Ace froze, staring at it.

He'd been so careful his whole life. Always staying clean-shaven at the risk of looking like his worthless father because he may share blood but he'd be _damned_ if he grew any facial hair because then he'd look even _more_ like him and less like his mother and the world would _burn_ before he willingly let that happen.

But—now, on his face, a monstrosity; black hair grew in a shadow over his face. Unconscious, he'd had no chance to shave it off. It wasn't a mustache, but it was bad enough.

"Does either of you have a razor?" Ace asked, his tone and body language suddenly urgent. Little Ace set the mirror shard down and shook his head. There was an odd look on his face, almost as though he understood why Ace was borderline panicking. Actually, he probably did.

"No."

"Nope," Luffy said, popping the "p".

Ace scowled, rubbing one hand across his face and almost growling when he discovered that there was definitely hair growing. He didn't like the feeling at all. "Dammit. I'll head into town and grab one, then."

"You don't have any money," Little Ace said, though he didn't sound entirely certain.

"I have a little," Ace muttered, rifling through his pockets and producing a few coins. He chose to ignore his younger counterpart's muttering about how they should've stolen it earlier. "Should be enough to buy a razor. I can always haggle down the price."

"What about the tattoo on your back? Won't it be recognized?"

"So what if it is? They're not gonna be able to do anything, and I'm not well-known yet. Plus, no one here is gonna make anything of it. They're not strong enough, anyway. And there's no way I'm covering it up with a shirt or something stupid like that."

"Fine. As long as you don't drag Luffy or me into anything."

Ace smirked. "Relax. I do tend to know what I'm doing, unlike _someone_." He looked at Luffy, who had stopped following the conversation some time ago in favor of staring out at the forest. Upon sensing that he was being looked at, however, he glanced back at Ace.

"Hm? You need somethin', Ace?"

The older boy shook his head. "No, nothing. Anyway, I'll be back."

"Are those yours?" Little Ace asked bluntly, pointing to a small pile of belongings shoved off to the side. "They washed up when you did."

Ace blinked and then his expression lit up. "Yes! My hat!"

The man quickly reached for his beloved hat and fixed it firmly upon hid head, and then he grabbed his log pose, bracelet, necklace, and dagger, returning them to their rightful positions quickly. Now he felt right.

"Better," he declared.

He got to his feet, too two steps, and promptly stumbled, only managing to stay standing by grabbing onto the wall. "Shit, my head hurts." Blinking to clear the sudden spots from his eyes, Ace took a deep breath and steadied himself. "Okay, trying this again."

This time, he managed to make it down from the tree house—and if he fell, Luffy and Little Ace wisely chose not to comment—and to the forest. His limbs were shaking from lack of use and he scowled heavily before glancing back at his new companions. "You guys got any meat?"

On cue, a boar suddenly charged into the small clearing, snorting and squealing like mad. It looked like a mean one; its beady black eyes fixed on Luffy and an animalistic hate in its shrill shriek of rage. Luffy glanced at Little Ace. "That's the one I tried to ride yesterday!"

Little Ace sighed. "It must've followed your scent or something. Nice going, Luffy."

The bigger Ace, on the other hand, just grinned. "Perfect!" He declared, flames bursting from his fist. Faster than either Luffy or Little Ace could follow, the Second Division Commander lashed out and hit the boar with a solid right hook, and followed the punch with a blast of flames that roasted the poor beast. It keeled over, dead and smoking.

Three minutes later, Ace had skinned, cut up, and cooked the beast and was happily munching away. Luffy was nearby, drool dripping from his mouth in a steady stream, while Little Ace just looked shocked.

"Did you just light that thing on _fire_?"

Ace glanced up, tearing off a chunk of meat with his teeth and then swallowing. "Yeah. I ate the Mera Mera no Mi, remember? It's how I burned the ropes off. I _am_ fire. It's pretty cool. Er, warm. Whichever." He went back to eating. After a few more seconds, he finally noticed Luffy staring at him. Or, more accurately, staring at the meat cooked thanks to Ace's flame powers.

"So I learn to cook," Little Ace said in the background. "Awesome. I'm a pirate and I know how to _cook_. _I'm so lame._ "

"Don't underestimate cooking," Ace said around his food. "Comes in handy. Trust me."

"Whatever you say."

"Meat," Luffy whispered. Rolling his eyes, Ace tossed his younger brother a large piece and watched with mild interest as Luffy devoured the entire thing in one bite.

"You're almost impressive, you know that?"

"You're eating just as much as him!" Little Ace snapped. He promptly got a leg of meat to the face for his comment, and though he scowled at first he quickly devoured it in much the same way as his little brother.

"Huh. So I am." Ace finished off the last of the meat and stretched, slowly getting to his feet. "Whew! That definitely helped. I'm gonna go to town now; I'll be back in a few hours."

"We're going back to our countries," Little Ace said. Ace glanced at him.

"Your . . . countries? What do you—oh. Okay. Have fun with that."

He was gone before either of the two younger boys could say anything else.

* * *

 _A/N That's that. I tried to get their personalities as good as I could. Do they seem in-character to you guys?_

 _ScarletRoofs: I'm not sure how long this story is going to be. It's probably going to end up like my Bleach story_ Skipping Stones _, which has an undetermined length but probably won't go over 100,000 words. I'd guess this story will be from 50-70 thousand, possibly less._

 _WDW: The Ace/Sabo/Luffy reunion won't take place for a_ long _time, though future!Ace may encounter Sabo at an earlier point. Maybe._

 _As always, questions are welcome. I'll keep my profile as up-to-date as possible so you guys aren't clueless about what's going on with this story. Word of warning: I have end-of-year exams coming up soon so updates will be sporadic. I really can't guess next update dates; I've found that procrastination is an excellent writing tool. Either that, or I get slapped in the face by writer's block._

 _ **Important note** : Okay, so I've got quite a few ideas for the shenanigans that Luffy and Ace and Little Ace are going to get into, but that doesn't mean I won't take suggestions. That's right, ladies and gentlemen and anyone in-between: I am accepting ideas. That doesn't mean I'll use yours, but I might incorporate it. Trust me, nothing is too ridiculous. Well, nothing within reason. A few rules (and remember, this story is rated T): No stories involving pairings that aren't canon, no murdering main characters, and for the love of all that's holy, do _not _mention cheesecake unless your idea is absolutely perfect. It doesn't have to be long or super complicated, just whatever you've wanted to see them doing. Just PM me your idea. That is all._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	6. Chapter 6

_Went on a One Piece binge and typed this up. Now if only I could apply this productivity to the three AP European History projects I have due next week._

* * *

Chapter 6

In Ace's defense, he _had_ paid for the razor. He'd even been polite about it, too, as Makino had taught him. Things had been going swimmingly—he'd even gotten the chance to shave, since the lady working was kind enough to offer a bathroom—but right when he finished a bunch of police officers had busted into the store.

Not wanting to make a scene, Ace had quickly walked past them, hat drawn over his eyes and Devil Fruit powers tightly restrained. Luck, however, was not on his side.

"That's him!" The kind lady had yelled. "That's the pirate!"

And then things, for lack of a better phrase, had gone to shit, leaving Ace in his current position of trying to lose the police officers of Edge Town. He was on the side closest to High Town, having been looking for a fairly high-quality razor, and as a result he was slowly being boxed in between the huge-ass wall that separated High Town from Edge Town and the rapidly multiplying police officers. It felt like half the damn police force was tracking him down, really.

"This is what I get for trying to keep a low profile," Ace said to himself. He really had no reason to be talking to himself, but it was cathartic, so he kept doing it. "Maybe I'll find a back alley or something and slip past them. Maybe they won't realize that I'm a pretty strong pirate. Maybe pigs will fly and Luffy will learn theoretical fucking physics."

"There he is!"

"Shit!" Ace ducked into a nearby alley and then all but dove behind a convenient flowerpot, thankful that his time on the sea had darkened his somewhat pale skin. Though he didn't mind the freckles he got from his mother, he had never found the lighter skin tones to be helpful when it came to stealth.

Booted feet thundered past the alleyway and slowly faded away, making Ace sigh in relief. After making sure there were no stragglers, the son of the Pirate King inched out of the alley and began making his way to the outer wall. He was getting hungry again; that boar had been good for immediate energy, but that ache was coming back in his legs with a vengeance.

Damn those policemen, making him run.

"I didn't even steal anything," he muttered, scratching his head and ignoring the wary (and a few disgusted) looks from the people nearby with the ease of long practice. Some of them were staring at the scar on his chest, but he ignored those people. "I mean, are they targeting me just 'cause I'm a pirate? Do they even recognize the symbol on my back? This is an isolated island, after all . . . hell, the only pirate here is—was—Bluejam, and he was just an asshole."

"I found him!"

Ace groaned. He was hungry, and tired, and broke, and far past the point of patience. Even so, he began running again. "Oh for the love of—WILL YOU GUYS JUST GO AWAY?"

The rising volume of Ace's pursuers answered that question just as easily as their shouted orders (that Ace was not going to listen to).

"Stop!"

"Get back here, pirate!"

"Stop running!"

"I PAID FOR THE DAMN RAZOR, YOU BASTARDS!" Ace yelled back, not bothering the censor himself. He was getting pretty annoyed with all the running, especially because his legs were complaining and he felt far shorter of breath than he was entirely comfortable with. "LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" Plus, he was concerned that these assholes would somehow follow him out of town. While it wasn't likely to happen, Ace could recall a few chases that had gone all the way into the woods. One had almost stretched all the way to the tree house, and that could have been a serious problem.

So, Ace kept running, ignoring the way his weakened muscles protested every move.

He noted absently that the breeze felt wonderful on his face. His clean-shaven, facial-hair-less face.

He'd be damned before he went weeks without shaving again.

The sudden smell of food got him sidetracked and he swerved off his intended course, heading to the delicious scent of cooking meat. He may not have quite the appetite of Luffy, but he was close, and there was no way he would miss eating something that smelled so good, especially when he still had a bit of money left over.

Never had Ace been more thankful for his good vision than in the next minute. He spotted the vendor's stall almost immediately, scoped out the price, and had the appropriate amount of money (almost all of what he had left) in his palm before he was within ten steps of the place. As he sprinted by, he nicked a kebab from the stand, tossed the money back at the dumbstruck vendor, and kept running, though now he had snacks to enjoy, which made the entire thing that much more bearable.

New energy coursed through Ace and he took a hard right, following it with a bit of climbing up the side of the building before he began sprinting to the outer wall along the rooftops.

He didn't want to reveal his fire powers. He really didn't. But it would be too much of a pain to find a better way to escape without them, so he sucked it up, blamed Luffy for no reason other than his own personal amusement, and prepared to take off as he jumped from roof to roof. He was quickly approaching the wall and, though he'd lost the guards pursuing him for the moment, there were more gathered at the foot of the gates and they looked entirely too watchful for Ace's liking. He even recognized one of them; a tall, skinny bastard that had been one of the guys to chase Ace so far.

Resisting the urge to set the guy on fire, Ace leaped onto the closest roof to the wall and got ready to jump.

It had taken him so long to master the art of flying. Marco's constant, dry-toned and possibly-sarcastic-or-possibly-not commentary had never helped, especially with the guy _constantly_ mentioning that he was a phoenix and could _already fucking fly_.

Ace admitted that most of his frustration about Marco was baseless and really only stemmed from his inability to fly for the first week and a half. See, Ace liked being good at things. He was good at being good. Hell, he was awesome at being good. So when flying didn't immediately go his way—and by "immediately", Ace meant within the first three days, because he was impatient but not _that_ impatient—he got a _little_ frustrated.

But then he'd gotten it, feeling better than he had in months as a result. Soaring through the skies had been breathtaking (as had the few times he'd fallen in the ocean and Namur had to come save his sorry ass) and he'd always to do it for longer, but the most he could do was two minutes—in combat—before his concentration broke and he started to feel tired. Figuring out how not to slam his face into the dirt took a lot of effort, after all, even more so when he was ducking and weaving and punching while in the air.

But what he was doing now wasn't quite that complicated. Plus, if things got bad, he could always go full-fire form. That was the fun part, but he tried not to do it too often because it freaked the hell out of some people. They just couldn't get used to the idea that a Logia user was _literally_ their Devil Fruit's element.

"Here we go," Ace said to himself, a grin decorating his face. As he approached the edge of the building, he built up his flames, mentally preparing them and judging the amount he would need to use. People thought he wasn't smart; people were wrong. He may be a pirate, but he could figure out the physics behind flying using the Mera Mera no Mi, thank you very much.

With one last glance behind him, Ace planted one foot solidly on the very edge of the building and pushed off for all he was worth.

He let out a whoop of excitement and pleasure as he blasted into the open air, hair whipping in the sudden wind as he arced almost gracefully over the wall that separated Edge Town from the Gray Terminal. The dumbstruck looks on the observers' faces were absolutely priceless and Ace wished he had some kind of camera. Thatch would absolutely love it; the guy and mayhem went together like Luffy and meat.

As he cleared the wall, he could hear shouting from both the guards inside and the people actually bothering to pay attention in the Gray Terminal. He decided to give a shit about them later and focused on not splattering on the ground, which was probably covered in sharp objects. It was impossible to tell what the nobles would throw away; Ace had found his dagger there, after all.

He'd rather not get impaled on his first day. He had stuff to do.

With far more grace than anyone ever expected him to demonstrate, Ace flipped in mid air and shot more fire from his feet, just enough to cushion his landing so that he could get away with rolling (once he made sure he was landing on actual ground and not shards of glass or something equally painful).

"And you said I'd never get a grip on the landings," Ace muttered, dusting himself off and making sure that the razor and shaving cream were still tucked in one of his pockets. "Take that, you stupid pineapple."

If Ace glanced around before saying the word "pineapple" to make sure that Marco wasn't there (even if it was impossible that he would be), no one needed to know. Better safe than roasted alive.

Noting the stares being directed his way, Ace began running through the Gray Terminal, keeping his trusty orange hat drawn low over his eyes to block out what little light filtered through the constant fog.

Though, there was a surprisingly small amount of trash. Ace had expected more, but then he remembered what had occurred so recently and chased those thoughts out of his head. He was such an idiot sometimes.

Nevertheless, he managed to find a decent amount of wood, a few nails, and even a discarded hammer. It was splintering and would probably break if it his something too hard, but it would suffice for the moment. The watchful eyes followed him to the tree line, but no one pursued him. That was good; Ace was in the mood to roast someone who thought it was a good idea to pry into his business.

As he walked through the forest, Ace took stock of what he'd managed to get, letting the pile of wood and various other repair materials rest on the ground.

There was a small bit of cord, a relatively inexpensive razor, some shaving cream that Ace was going to have to ration since that shit was annoyingly expensive in the East Blue. Oddly enough, it was pretty cheap in the New World. Supply and demand, probably. Those bigoted nobles needed to keep their facial hair nice and neat, after all.

"Bastards."

Letting the insult hang, Ace put his spoils back in his pockets and began whistling an odd tune he'd picked up from one-too-many parties. Strangely, the Whitebeard Pirates probably would've made a kickass choir if they weren't all extremely dangerous pirates.

The thought made Ace quirk a smile. Then the image of Thatch dressed up like a ballerina popped into his head and he had to stop and stifle his laughter, which only increased when the image of the rest of the crew in the same outfit intruded on his thoughts.

It took him almost five minutes to pull himself together, and by that point Ace had decided that he was never going to let any of his (future?) crewmates near tutus. Or large amounts of the color pink. Or glitter. Or _anything_ frilly, Izo's personal tastes when he was drunk be damned.

Actually, Izo would gut him six ways to Sunday if Ace messed with his wardrobe, so Ace decided that Izo could do it. He would be able to pull off the ballerina look anyway; the guy was talented.

But he probably wouldn't appreciate any of Ace's commentary on his clothing.

"You know what, I'm just going to stop thinking about it," Ace decided.

He came upon the tree house a few minutes later and carefully set his materials down before examining the makeshift home to figure out exactly what needed to be fixed, repaired, or replaced entirely. It took him about fifteen minutes to fully examine things—and he silently thanked Kiel, the head shipwright, for taking the time to teach Ace about the workings of ships (because if Ace was going to use a beauty like Striker he'd better know damn well how to fix the thing)—before he actually began repairs.

He worked for a few hours, managing to patch up the hole in the wall and even fix a railing that had almost been blown off by what Ace guessed was a freak storm. He vaguely recalled one happening the day Sabo was taken away.

Satisfied with his work for the day, Ace went hunting, managing to find and kill two deer, which he quickly cooked. Thatch, though he had been reluctant to teach Ace how to really cook at first because of his Mera Mera no Mi powers and the risk of Ace accidentally setting things on fire, eventually caved and now Ace was thankful that he had. He couldn't do any of the fancy shit but he could make a decent meal.

With his belly full and night fast approaching, Ace walked back to the tree house and carefully climbed up, making sure to bring his wood and nails with him so that wild animals wouldn't mess with them during the night.

Once that was done, he promptly fell asleep. Being conscious for so long was exhausting.

* * *

 _A/N Kiel? Keel? See what I did there? Yeah, I'm about as creative as a plain gray t-shirt._

 _MinamiJSakuya: Luffy won't meet Sabo until Dressrosa. Ace, on the other hand . . . well, I'm planning an interesting encounter._

 _smfan: Definitely an interesting idea and something I'll probably incorporate into later chapters for humor. Thanks!_

 _I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter!_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	7. Chapter 7

_75 follows? That's insane! Thanks for the support!_

* * *

Chapter 7

Ace woke to sunlight lancing into his eyes and a particularly _spirited_ bird chirping madly into his ear. After trying to ignore it for a good three minutes, Ace's irritation got the better of him and his hand shot out, gripping the feathered creature by its scrawny neck.

It squawked but then went silent with instinctual fear when Ace looked at it with a gaze full of so much blank anger there was a chance it would melt. Luckily, Ace had enough presence of mind to let the poor thing go and he watched it struggle to fly away—it ran into a tree but kept going, the persistent little bastard—and then the young man decided to actually get up.

No one had ever accused him of being a morning person.

It took him a few minutes to get through his morning routine thanks to the soreness that seemed to be coming from every single muscle in his body.

"I'm never going comatose again," Ace muttered, cracking his neck.

"HEY, OLD TIMER!"

Ace pinched the bridge of his nose and took pains to remind himself that _murder is wrong_ , _especially_ _fratricide_ , before yelling, "WHAT DO YOU WANT, LUFFY?"

"WE'VE GOT FOOD FOR YOU! Shishishishi!"

How the kid managed to even _laugh_ loudly was beyond Ace. He attributed it to rubber lungs and moved on. "BE RIGHT DOWN!"

The young man jumped down from the tree house, landing easily on the ground after slowing his descent with a blast of fire. He could almost sense the sparkles in Luffy's eyes and couldn't stop a smile from forming on his face when he saw the wide grin on the lovable dummy's features.

"That's so cool! I with I could do that!"

"You'd end up setting half the forest on fire," Little Ace pointed out.

"Oh, you're being too stingy," Ace said, eyeing what looked like two giant fish strapped to the brothers' backs. "He'd torch three-quarters of this place at least."

"How would you know?"

"Well, it's _Luffy_."

"Point taken."

"Don't talk like I'm not here!" Luffy whined, pulling on Little Ace's arm. Little Ace shook him off without even looking and ignored his words.

"So, you gonna cook these things or what?"

Ace's grin became cocky. "I thought cooking was a lame skill to have. Or did I hear you wrong?"

Red covered Little Ace's face but he looked away to hide it, mumbling something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "shut up".

After a quick breakfast—during which Ace and his younger counterpart had a competition as to who could save more of their food from Luffy's all-too-eager hands (Ace won, but only barely; he'd been experienced with Luffy's tricks even when he was so young)—the younger boys went up into the tree house to examine it.

Ace could hear muffled commentary from Luffy, especially about the "mystery hole" in the wall being completely gone. After almost two minutes, Ace heard the sound of something breaking.

"I'M NOT FIXING THAT!" He called, crossing his arms. He was a pirate, after all, not some contractor.

"WE KNOW!" Little Ace yelled back, irritation obvious in his voice. There was more muted conversation that Ace didn't bother listening to; there was strange warmth in his head, a feeling that he knew all too well. He tried to force his eyes open but they were already closed and everything was suddenly black—

 _Oh,_ fuck _._

His return to consciousness didn't seem to take too long—though he'd thought that before only to discover he'd been out for almost an hour—and when he opened his eyes he immediately noticed that Little Ace and Luffy had moved on from the tree house itself to the little crow's nest nestled in the branches nearby. Ace cursed.

"Damn. Forgot about that."

As though sensing that he was awake again, Little Ace glanced back, his position nothing short of precarious as he stood on the worryingly thin branch. "You finally awake, Old Timer?"

"I'm _twenty_! Anyway, how'd the tree house look?"

Luffy's head popped up from within the crow's nest, a bright smile on his face. "It looks awesome! Even the giant hole is gone!" He laughed. "As long as you don't punch it again, it'll stay awesome!"

Ace scowled, preparing to lightly chastise Luffy ( _pot to kettle, little bro, pot to kettle_ ), but he was interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. He barely had "fuck" out of his mouth when Dogra and some other bandit Ace had never bothered to learn the name of appeared from within the bushes.

No chance for him to hide. And the two had already noticed him.

 _Shit._

"Uh, hey," Ace said, waving lamely. Then his manners kicked in (he could almost _hear_ Makino saying "bzz" and crossing her fingers to indicate he'd screwed up) and he backtracked. "My name's Ace. It's nice to meet you . . .?"

The bandits were confused. Nevertheless, Dogra found his voice. "Dogra and Binzo," he replied, indicating himself and his partner respectively. The second bandit's name flew out of Ace's head almost immediately, so he focused on Dogra.

At that moment, the two kids screwing around in the tree decided to notice that Dogra and whatever-the-other-bandit's-name-was had arrived. Luffy immediately yelped in surprise, startling Little Ace, who had been in the process of climbing into the crow's nest. The poor footing, coupled with the sudden shock, sent Little Ace tumbling out of the tree at a height that would do more than just bruise.

Moving quickly, Ace darted forward, catching his younger double with ease.

"Thanks," Little Ace muttered, jumping to the ground as Ace let him go.

"Not a problem."

"D—Dogra?" The bandit whispered. "Are you seeing—?"

"Yes, I believe I am. What is going on here? Ace, Luffy?" He looked at Ace. "And Bigger Ace?"

"'Bigger Ace'?" Ace repeated.

"He's Old Timer!" Luffy declared as he followed his older brother out of the tree. Ace didn't bother to catch him and the younger boy quite literally bounced off the ground and back to his feet.

"Twenty, Luffy! Twenty! Two-zero!"

Dogra coughed. "Can someone please explain what's going on here? From my perspective it seems that there are two, uh, Aces. Why is that? Why is one so big?" The bandit abruptly noticed that the three boys weren't paying any attention. "Hey! Pay attention when someone's talking to you!"

"So, Old Timer," Luffy was saying, "how hot can your flames get?"

"As hot as I need them to be. There was this one time in the kitchens when Thatch—I'm pretty sure I told you guys about him—was trying to make this new recipe and the stove was out, so he had me replace it. 'Course, I wasn't officially a part of their crew at the time and didn't feel like being a fuckin' _stove_ for four hours, so I just roasted the thing and hoped it would cook instantly."

"Did it?" Luffy asked, leaning forward. Ace laughed.

"Nope! Charred it black. Had to pay for it and the new stove. Didn't help that I fell asleep while I was supposed to be cleaning up, either."

"Why the stove?" Asked Little Ace.

"I broke that too when I tried to—ah, well, you'll find out."

Both of the younger boys cursed at being stonewalled and only then did they notice that Dogra had been trying to get their attention.

All three of them gave the two bandits the same look. "What were you saying?"

Dogra sighed. "Never mind. I can't bring myself to even ask what kind of trouble you two managed to find."

"I am _not_ trouble!" Ace protested. "It just happens to follow me in very close proximity."

"So it's like a stalker," summed up Luffy. Ace sighed.

"Sure. Something like that."

Little Ace turned to Dogra. "Why are you out here, anyway?"

"The Boss was wondering where you two had gone," the bandit said simply. "You were up earlier than normal, you know."

"Shihihihi! That's 'cause we had to get the Old Timer some food!'

By this point, Ace had thoroughly given up on getting Luffy to stop calling him "Old Timer". Once the kid had a nickname, he stuck with it whether it made sense or not. "Just ignore them. I kind of washed up on shore, these two idiots found me, and they made sure I didn't die while I was in a coma."

Dogra nodded, seeming to appreciate the simple explanation, especially since Luffy was providing a needlessly more complex one in the background without even being prompted. "That would explain why they've been coming here with food so much even after they said they wanted to live in their own countries."

"They're not the brightest," Ace said, managing to pull of a straight face and getting two kicks to the shin for his efforts. Had he not been purposely suppressing his Devil Fruit powers—there was at least _one_ thing he didn't want everyone knowing, after all, even after that stunt in Edge Town—the younger boys could have gotten burned, but instead Ace just winced and rubbed his shin. Young or no, they still had strong kicks.

Dogra merely blinked, having grown somewhat acclimated to the siblings' rather eccentric behaviors. Really, he just didn't want to concern himself with whatever ridiculousness they'd managed to find this time. "Right then. Well, you can probably avoid destroying the forest. I'll be going. Let's go, Binzo."

The other bandit gave the three boys one last incredulous look before following Dogra out of the clearing. Ace, Luffy, and Little Ace watched them go until they were out of sight.

Ace sighed in relief and then glanced at Luffy. "Hey, Lu, I just remembered something. Can I see your hat?"

Luffy immediately held his beloved straw hat close. "Why do you want Hat?"

"That string is looking a little frayed," Ace explained, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the cord he had gotten the other day during the razor fiasco. He slowly waved it in Luffy's face to emphasize his point. "I figured I could fix it."

Little Ace blinked. "You know how to—"

"Yes," Ace said, a little impatiently. "And before you even say it, that does not make me—"

"Lame!" Little Ace declared, turning around and walking over to the tree house. "I'm going to check out the crow's nest again."

Unable to resist the opportunity, Ace smirked. "Try not to fall again."

"I only fell in the first place because I was surprised!"

"Sure. Go with that."

"Shut up!"

Rolling his eyes, Ace let his younger counterpart off the hook and turned back to Luffy. "Please, Lu? I promise I'm not going to damage the hat. Honest."

Luffy gave his older brother a long, measured look before grinning widely. "Okay! But if you hurt Hat in any way I'm gonna break you!"

"Ah . . . right. You're very protective of this hat, Lu."

"It's Shanks's!"

"I know," Ace muttered fondly while pulling out a few other supplies and quickly replacing the fraying string on Luffy's hat. Luffy kept up a constant stream of babble the entire time, but his eyes never once left the hat. Ace noted that there were a few places where the straw of the hat was coming undone and he patched up those areas as well, now thankful for all the time he spent learning how to make straw hats to give Oars Jr. a present. When he was done, Ace grinned and presented the fixed up hat to Luffy with a flourish. "There!"

Luffy grinned, putting the oversized hat on his head and not seeming to care that it was too big. "Thanks!" He said, still beaming even as he followed Ace into the tree house.

Ace had an indulgent grin on his face. He'd never realized that Luffy was actually borderline adorable when they were younger. No wonder Makino and everyone else always formed connections with him so quickly.

"Hey, Old Timer!" Little Ace was standing in the crow's nest, staring down at his older self.

"What?"

"What're you gonna do today?"

Ace shrugged. "Dunno. Hunt, I guess."

"You should spar with us!" Luffy called, his voice filled with excitement. Ace rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not missing the dangerous light in his younger self's eyes.

"Ah, that's not a good idea, Lu. Plus, you should be sparring with Little Me."

"I'm not little!"

"Fine. Little _r_ Me. Anyway, I don't want to interfere or whatever in your lives. I'll just hang around here. I have stuff to think about, anyway."

"Stuff?" Luffy repeated, pouting. "That's dumb."

"Ah, shut up," Ace said fondly as he got to his feet, having been sitting on a fallen log while he patched up Luffy's hat. "I'm going to go into town for a month or two and check things out."

"Edge Town?" Little Ace asked, frowning. "Weren't you there yesterday? Why would you need to spend so much time there?"

"Not Edge Town."

Luffy's eyes widened. "Oh! Oh! You mean Fuusha Village! Say hi to Makino for me!"

Ace raised an eyebrow. "You don't want to go, Lu?"

Luffy shook his head, crossing his arms. "Nu-uh! I'm gonna stay with Ace!"

Little Ace rolled his eyes. "It's not like I need your help, Lu. We've got our own countries, anyway."

"I don't care!" Luffy insisted stubbornly.

"Alright, alright," Ace interrupted. "I'm going. I might stay down there for a while, maybe a few weeks. Try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone, 'kay?"

Little Ace just huffed while Luffy grinned.

Despite the ominous feeling twisting his stomach, Ace waved to the two younger boys and walked away, ducking into the forest and beginning the long trek to Fuusha Village.

* * *

 _A/N Can't decide whether it's Foosha or Fuusha, but I went with Fuusha because it actually translates to windmill. As for why Ace is leaving his younger self and Luffy, it'll be explained in more detail in the next chapter. To put it simply, he can't die and then go back in time without_ something _getting screwed up in his head._

 _Reviews:_

 _Amorphous Sapphire: I've got a plan for Garp. He'll show up in a few chapters._

 _Guest: Good suggestions! I've already got some stuff written for most of them, so thank you!_

 _Again, suggestions are welcome! (As are reviews, but that's implied.) The next update will probably be in a little over a week or so, maybe earlier._

 _Until next time,_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	8. Chapter 8

_Apparently, "a week or so, maybe earlier" translates to about 4 days. And I'm supposed to be doing homework, dammit!_

* * *

Chapter 8

Ace spent two months in Luffy's hometown. He couldn't explain exactly why; he'd never been there before, never felt the need to travel there even though he had been perfectly capable of doing so, yet now that he was there he wondered why he'd never bothered to visit Fuusha Village. The place was isolated, set off in the country in a place that most of the people in the Goa Kingdom didn't even know about. There weren't many people there, and the smell of the sea accompanied by an almost constant breeze from the coast, coupled with the numerous windmills and farms, combined to make a calming atmosphere, a small world set off from the rest of the universe.

And it was absolutely perfect for Ace.

He got a room in the small inn, though he spent most of his days and nights outside, either exploring or stargazing because, for some reason, the stars had never looked so _bright_ before. For the first two weeks, he was careful to avoid the bar, to avoid a particular green-haired woman that would no doubt recognize him no matter how old he was.

He even wore a shirt, though it felt strange after two years without one. It was a shirt very similar to the one he remembered from when he was seventeen; he'd gotten it in Edge Town since Fuusha Village didn't have a lot of shops for clothes. Ace kept it unbuttoned, ignoring the stares that the horrific scarring on his chest drew. He didn't wear it to cover up his Whitebeard mark; the sense of nostalgia that he felt almost every second of every day told him to do it.

And when he wasn't moving, wasn't exploring, he was thinking. He thought about everything; his mother, his father, his grandpa, his brother, the family he'd found in the Whitebeard Pirates, and everything in between. There were a few days during which he didn't leave his room, but they were infrequent.

More than anything, he thought about himself. He confronted everything he'd grown to hate; Ace left nothing untouched, couldn't, because whenever he wanted to shy away from something he could see his brother reaching for him even with three admirals and the world in his way and a cry on his lips and Whitebeard and his family doing everything they could to keep him safe, to save him and there was no way Ace could let them down again.

So he pulled himself apart, picked at old wounds that had never actually healed and working through the pain and the frustrated anger and the resentment seated so deep that it was practically all he had until there was only one question left, one he couldn't answer on his own because it wasn't _meant_ to be answered like that.

 _"Was it good that I was born?"_

And the Whitebeard Pirates and his brother always screamed _yes_ in his mind and he wanted to believe them, wanted to trust them so badly—

 _"Thank you for loving me!"_

But there was a small wall in his brain, something that stopped him from really _understanding_ that answer. There was a disconnect born of innocent questions met with hateful and cruel answers, born of scathing voices and empty threats, born of misinformation and lies that were close enough to the truth for a little kid that they sat on his conscience and stayed there.

And he couldn't have that because it felt wrong and he'd ignored it before, ignored everything that pulled at his insides and kept him awake for so many nights that his narcolepsy was sometimes the only reason he got any sleep at all, and only Oyaji had really known just how deeply Ace's wounds went, and Marco and Thatch had been close but not quite _there_.

When he could no longer bear the questions ricocheting in his mind, leaving painfully quiet echoes that didn't fade no matter how much time he gave them, Ace went to the bar. It had taken him almost a month to work up to it, to be ready to see Makino's smiling face again; Ace hadn't seen her since he'd set off and she'd told him not to get a cold and that was so _Makino_ that he smiled at the memory. He'd gone at gotten the Mera Mera no Mi later, and he half suspected fate just liked toying with him like that.

But that was fine. Because he was here now, and that was all that mattered.

His booted feet sounded oddly loud on the wooden floor of the bar. Makino was behind the counter with her back turned as she polished one of the innumerable bottles that lined the back wall. The room contained _noise_ , a welcome break from the insufferable parody of silence that had invaded Ace's mind for the past few weeks after he left Luffy and his younger self behind. The people in the bar watched him warily, seeing the scar on his chest and maybe the dangerous light in his eyes. When he merely sat on a stood at the bar and ordered a drink, they dismissed him, that peculiar sixth sense of theirs probably saying that Ace wasn't there to pick a fight.

Makino handed Ace his drink and he kept his head down, hiding his face under the brim of his hat, mumbling a thank you as she smiled at him—and he could picture the expression in his mind's eye, and he wanted to look up but knew that he wasn't ready quite yet.

He drank in silence, listening with half an ear to the conversations going on around him. The people in Fuusha Village spoke differently than the people in Edge Town; they were nothing like the harsh, mocking voices that Ace heard as a child. Here, people spoke no more loudly than necessary and laughed genuinely, no trace of the emptiness that Ace had heard so many years ago.

It was strange. Refreshing. Welcome.

He nursed his drink, probably could have had a lot more, but something was telling him not to get drunk here. He didn't even think he could _get_ drunk, anyway—something to do with being made of fire, burning out the alcohol; he'd had a talk with Marco about it when they entered a drinking competition with almost a quarter of the crew and come out as the only two winners—but that wasn't the point. He just listened, content not to disrupt anything.

It was soothing, in a way, hearing these people talk about mundane things. With sunlight streaming in from the windows and the general hubbub permeating the air, Ace was tempted to call the bar almost peaceful.

It was nothing like a pirate ship. At the same time, it was everything Ace wanted right then.

Of course, something had to break the peace. News from the port drifted in and all Ace had to hear was the word "pirates" and he nearly burned a handprint into the bar.

The pirates turned out to be from a crew that Ace had never known existed: The Spinning Palm Pirates. Ace guessed South Blue and was proven right when a fair number of them sauntered into the bar, bleeding confidence and arrogance in equal measure, and though they weren't weak Ace could tell that they were far from strong.

Their captain was one of them and though they were clearly arrogant pieces of shit, they were far more respectful than Ace had been expecting. They paid for the alcohol they bought, and though a few of them were a little too loose-tongued around Makino they never crossed the line.

Ace was sure that nothing was going to happen and he went back to drinking until a strange warmth filled his head and scattered his thoughts, leaving him in darkness.

When he woke up, it was to laughter. He looked around, already fully awake, and noticed that _he_ was the one being laughed at—by the pirates, no less. Ace stared at them for a few seconds, not liking the grating undertones in their voices, so different from the softness of the other people in the bar, but he dismissed it in favor of ordering food because the alcohol wasn't mixing well with his empty stomach (Luffy would have been appalled; Ace had missed a meal for the first time in years).

And Makino put a plate in front of him and Ace dug in, not caring that he was drawing even more attention than he had when he fell asleep.

Inevitably, one of the pirates decided that he couldn't stand Ace's eating habits, even though Ace was on the opposite side of the room and not doing a damn thing to the other pirate.

At first, Ace ignored him, even when the guy had the gall to sit on the stool next to his. Besides, Makino's cooking was good and Ace was hungry.

"Hey."

"Hey!"

" _Hey!_ "

And because the guy was being annoying and he was too damned tired for this, Ace set down the leg of meat he'd been gnawing on, swallowed, cleared his throat with a bit of booze, and turned to face the presumptuous idiot sitting next to him with his best glare in place.

" _What_."

It wasn't even a question, and judging by the pirate's rapidly paling features he'd realized that he had just fucked up. Badly.

Silence reigned in the bar for a solid minute—a fact that Ace did _not_ like—before the pirate swallowed, stood, and began to walk away.

"N-never mind," he stammered. Ace watched him leave, expression never changing, and only went back to eating when the rest of the pirates left and the casual conversation in the bar resumed.

"Thank you."

Ace glanced up, saw Makino looking at him and hurriedly glanced back down. "You're welcome," he mumbled, trying to hide the fact that his face was turning red _even after all these years_ because there was _something_ about Makino that made him feel—feel—what was it? He couldn't say what it was exactly, but there was something just so welcoming about her that Ace felt some of the tension he always felt ease by simply being around her.

She was kind and motherly and had never expected anything but the best from Ace in the best possible way, even when he was a bratty kid with anger and trust issues bigger than the Grand Line. She was incredible.

Ace was half-hoping that Makino would leave it at that (because he hated to admit it but he was a coward and was starting to rethink his plan), but she didn't. The Second Division Commander discreetly looked up again and saw her still staring at him. Fighting to keep his face from going red again, Ace scrambled for a topic of conversation because the silence was borderline deafening. Luckily, Makino was one step ahead.

"I haven't seen you in this bar before," she began, smiling that gentle smile she always seemed to have. "Are you from around here?"

"You could say that," Ace answered evasively, eating the last of his food once he finished speaking. Makino raised an eyebrow as Ace put enough beri on the counter to pay for his meal and the drinks and made to leave.

Before Ace could take a single step, Makino had reached out and pulled the hat from his head. Ace froze, feeling the hat come to rest over his back, held there by the cord. His shaggy black hair, no longer held back by his hat, fell around his face but did nothing to hide his features.

"I knew it," Makino whispered. She quickly came out from behind the bar and grabbed Ace's arm, her grip surprisingly strong. "Come with me. You're attracting too much attention."

Ace wanted to protest— _she_ was the one attracting attention—but the words died on his lips when he saw the urgency in her eyes and he allowed himself to be led into a back room in the bar that he hadn't noticed before. Makino shut the door behind them and turned back to Ace, the urgency gone from her expression, replaced by curiosity.

"So," she said. She left the word hanging and Ace swallowed, fumbling for something to say.

"So," he repeated, unsure of what he was supposed to do. Makino just smiled at him.

"How's being a pirate?"

Ace choked. "W—what?"

Makino laughed at his reaction and gently rubbed his back while Ace got his surprise under control. "Well, you're Ace, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Ace managed after a few seconds. "Yeah, I'm Ace."

"I could tell by your tattoo," Makino said, tracing the letters inked into Ace's skin. "I'm sorry to hear about Sabo."

Ace winced, remembering the harsh words his younger self had yelled.

 _"You don't belong here!"_

He was right, of course. Ace was the interloper in this time. Still, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing; he was a pirate, and pirates didn't have to follow what others said.

"He wasn't mine to mourn this time," Ace muttered, pushing her hand away. Makino frowned at him.

"Who told you that?"

"The younger me."

"That's dumb," Makino said. "You're you, no matter how old or how young. Sabo was and always will be your brother, so don't think for a moment that it's not your place. Sure, the younger you is going through it for the first time, but that doesn't make it any better the second time around."

Ace grit his teeth. "But—"

"But what?"

"I should've been there! I should've saved Sabo!"

"Ace."

"I was _here_! I could've done something!"

" _Ace_."

"I could've stopped Sabo from—from dying!"

"Ace! Look at me!"

Startled by the commanding tone in Makino's voice, Ace obeyed, his eyes watering slightly but the tears remaining unshed.

"Ace," Makino said again, anchoring Ace in the present with the sound of his own name, " _look at me_."

And this time he made an effort to focus his eyes on Makino's face and there was no flush of childlike embarrassment because there was a conviction in Makino's eyes that burned hot enough to match any flame Ace could produce.

"Did you choose to come back?" Makino asked.

"N—no."

"Did you get to choose _when_ you came back?"

"No."

"Did you get to choose _how_ you came back?"

"No."

"Then why are you calling this your fault, Ace?" Makino asked softly, gently tilting Ace's chin so that the young man and her were at eye level with each other. "You shouldn't beat yourself up over something like this. You did all you could with what you had, and that's what matters. Not half-formed ideas of what _could_ have been. You always do what you can in the present; dwelling on the past gets you nothing. Do you understand?"

Ace swallowed and nodded. Makino let him go, standing to her full height once more. "I have to admit, I'm curious how you ended up here, Portgas D. Ace. Why are you all grown up?"

"Why are you only asking about that now?"

"You're avoiding the question."

Ace stood straight and found a seat on one of the storage crates scattered around the room while he mulled over the answers he could give Makino. Eventually, he settled on the truth. "I'm from the future." He scoffed at his own words and muttered, "Man, that sounds lame when I say it out loud."

Makino laughed softly. "It does. How did you get here?"

"Dunno."

"What happened before you got here?"

Ace winced, remembering _pain_ and _fire_ and _burning_ and _darkness_ and _screaming_ —

"Ace! You're on fire!"

The young man started and quickly put out the flames dancing across his skin, giving Makino an apologetic look. She just sighed, looking at him with great sadness in her eyes. Ace's mouth went dry when he saw _understanding_ in her eyes as well.

"Oh, you poor boy," Makino murmured, for a second seeming to forget that Ace was much older. "What did they do to you?"

"Nothing, Makino. I'm fine." He nearly wilted under her stare but managed to keep his walls up. "Honest. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Please, Ace. Be truly honest with me."

He froze, old instincts of _run don't tell them don't let them find out you're a monster a devil get away_ rising within but he quelled them because it was Makino, and she would never do anything to hurt him.

"Did you have fun?"

He blinked. That was not the question he had been expecting. Makino looked at him expectantly. "Well?"

Ace's eyes became unfocused and he thought back to all the adventures he'd experienced since setting off from Dawn Island.

He'd assembled his crew remarkably quickly, setting course for the Grand Line soon after and never stopping, never even slowing down. There were tough days but his crew had been some of the best people he'd ever met and even though they weren't together for very long he'd still seen them around Whitebeard's ship. They were happy there, too, and that was good enough for Ace.

Joining Whitebeard had been a long and arduous ordeal, the pain caused by promises of freedom and having no regrets and jeering cries of devil children and painful questions of self-worth. In the end, Ace had found a new father and a family in which he belonged.

And he had roamed the oceans wild and free, just like Whitebeard had originally promised. Those had been some of the best years of his life; there was never a dull moment on board the _Moby Dick_ , and no one had even batted an eye when Ace bragged about his brother that they hadn't known existed before, because any brother of Ace's was a brother of theirs.

It had been glorious. Pulling pranks with Thatch, learning to cook properly, learning rudimentary ship care from Kiel, learning and training with the other commanders, learning to just _live_ from everyone. It had been everything Ace wanted, everything that, deep down, he knew he needed.

Of course, it hadn't lasted forever, but Ace had already confronted those monsters in his head and while he would never be _over_ Thatch's death and Blackbeard's betrayal, he could think about it with a level head now.

And Thatch was alive now, anyway. Ace may not have been able to do anything to stop Sabo's death, but he'd be damned if he let Thatch die again.

So Ace took a deep breath and all the memories of smiles and laughter and _life_ combined into one simple sentence.

"Yeah, I did."

And just like that, the weight he'd never really realized he was carrying lifted enough for him to breathe easily again, enough so that he could voice a question.

"Hey, Makino?"

"Yes?"

"What do you know about Gol D. Roger?"

And he saw her smile dim and at first he felt a bitter sort of triumph because _he really was a monster even Makino admitted it_ , but then she half-sighed and drew Ace in a warm embrace.

And when she spoke her words were soft, her expression kind, nothing at all like the leering faces of those men and their jeering voices. She told him stories of freedom, stories of a man that roamed the sees unmatched by any other, and when Ace asked her how she knew any of this she just smiled and said, "Garp".

And for some reason, Ace wasn't mad at all that the old geezer had told her those stories. He got the feeling that Makino had already figured his secret out anyway.

He stayed in the back room for hours, listening to Makino's—Gramps's—stories with rapt attention, occasionally wanting to spit denials only for Makino's supportive and sympathetic gaze to quell his age-old resentment.

He found it oddly fitting that Garp was the one to give him the answer (indirectly, but that made no difference) even after telling Ace that it was something Ace had to discover on his own.

Living did have its rewards after all.

* * *

 _A/N If you guys don't know, I mostly write to explore characters. This chapter is kind of my Ace-feel-better-please chapter. Plus, you can't travel back in time without being a_ little _off._

 _Guest: Yes._

 _Expect some shenanigans in the future._

 _Until next time,_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	9. Chapter 9

_And here we are with the new chapter. It's time to go back to the forest!_

* * *

Chapter 9

When Ace came back to the forest he was greeted with one rubbery body all but slamming into him, and it took most of his concentration to prevent Luffy from getting burned, and then he tripped over something (a pole? Oh, he _didn't_ ) and crashed to the ground, unable to help smiling even though his back was aching.

"Ace! It's been so long and we did know if you were coming back andyouneverevenwroteoranythingandthat's—"

"Luffy, calm down," Ace said, laughing as he sat up and pulled Luffy into his lap. The boy winced and Ace frowned, but then memories of what happened a few months after Sabo passed came back and he dismissed his worries and ruffled Luffy's hair. "What kind of trouble have you gotten into now?"

Luffy stuck out his tongue.

"I knew you were lame," Little Ace said, emerging from behind a bush with his pipe casually resting over one shoulder, "but I didn't think you were lame enough to let _Luffy_ tackle you. And then you tripped. I'm concerned."

Ace shot his younger self a bemused look. "You planned this?"

"'Course not."

"You're not as bad as Luffy, but I can tell you're lying."

"Shut up. You're still lame."

Ace just laughed.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

A month passed in a whirlwind of smiles and laughter and shenanigans that probably could've made Dadan loose all of her hair had she known the true extent of them. Ace knew that Little Ace and Luffy had noticed the difference in his behavior but he was grateful that the two troublemakers hadn't commented. It wasn't in their nature, after all.

Ace felt comfortable both with his shirt and without it, though he tended to go without it unless he was going into town. Apparently the people of Edge Town and the Gray Terminal still remembered the incident with the Whitebeard Pirate from all those months ago, which Ace thought was just stupid. Sure, Whitebeard was a Yonko and all but ruled a fair portion of the New World and was known as the strongest man in the world and never let any injury to his crewmembers go unpunished— _oh_.

Maybe they feared retaliation for chasing Ace around. Really, Ace didn't care.

At the moment, however, he was training. He remembered how Luffy's Haki— _Conqueror's_ Haki, the rarest kind—had been extremely helpful when Luffy was trying to rescue him. Ace had that Haki too; he remembered using it against Bluejam and his desperate crew. It would be invaluable in a fight, especially if there were a lot of small fry that Ace didn't feel like dealing with. Therefore, he needed to train it. He needed to _master_ it like he did his Devil Fruit.

He sat in the middle of a clearing, eyes closed and all his attention focused inward. Ace could vaguely recall the feeling of using Conqueror's Haki; something had just _pushed_ outward in his chest (and he'd felt resistance from those crewmembers and Bluejam himself but he'd just pushed that resistance aside where he could) and they _dropped_.

So he focused on finding the source of that power and tried to ignore the curious stares of both Luffy and himself—er, his younger self. Ace tried to remember the few lessons Marco and Thatch had put him through to learn the other types of Haki, but there hadn't been that many and they'd usually been interrupted by attacking Marines and pirates dumb enough to attack Whitebeard.

Of course, Ace had had a natural affinity for Haki and he'd picked up on it quickly, though he'd never felt the need to use what few skills he had with it in battle since he kicked ass either way.

Armament Haki was fine for going up against opponents that also knew Haki or those that had Devil Fruit powers, but Ace wanted to figure out Conqueror's Haki. It was a puzzle he couldn't put down now that he'd picked it up.

After almost an hour of frustration, Ace heard Luffy walk forward and plop down in front of him.

"Whatcha doin'?" The small boy asked. Ace cracked open an eye.

"Thinking. Concentrating."

"On what?"

He didn't have an answer for that, so he stuck with the generic. "Things."

"Why?"

"To grow stronger."

"Thinking makes you stronger?"

"Sometimes."

Luffy pouted. "That's boring."

Ace sighed, giving up on focusing for the moment and staring at his kid brother. "Luffy, sometimes you've gotta think."

"You should know that saying things like that to him is pretty much pointless," Little Ace commented, walking up the pair. There was curiosity in his eyes and Ace prepared for the inevitable question. "So what are you doing?"

"Training."

"How is sitting in the middle of a clearing training for anything?"

"I'm trying to strengthen my Haki," Ace replied, mentally tacking on, _if I can just figure out how to use it at will in the first place_.

"Haki? What's that?" Luffy asked, his eyes going wide as he no doubt realized that there was something he could learn to fight with here.

"It's hard to explain."

"Try anyway," Little Ace said—almost commanded, really—while he shifted to a more comfortable sitting position.

Running a hand through his hair, Ace complied, retelling all that he had heard from Marco, Thatch, and a few others on board the _Moby Dick_. Luffy and Little Ace were silent and listening with rapt attention the entire time, somewhat surprising Ace. He thought they would lose interest. Then again, he was describing a fighting technique, and that had always held his interest.

By the time he finished, Ace wanted water. Unfortunately, Luffy and Little Ace were having none of that.

"Teach me!" Luffy declared. Little Ace just nodded, echoing his brother's request without even opening his mouth. Ace groaned.

"I don't know how to _do_ it, much less _teach_ it."

"Teach me!"

"Lu, I just—"

"Teach me!"

And Ace heaved a defeated sigh. "Fine."

Both younger boys cheered while the eldest just wondered what he'd gotten into.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

It took Ace another half an hour to consciously trigger his Conqueror's Haki. When he did, however, he noticed.

There was that familiar tug in his core and then a feeling of _expanding_ , and then he was pushing against the willpower of everyone in the area and forcing them down. It was harder than he remembered and gone before he'd fully understood what he was doing, but it was progress. Grinning, Ace opened his eyes, only to see his younger counterpart and Luffy sprawled on the ground, dazed and groaning.

His smile dimmed. Whoops.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

It took a week of two-hour Haki training sessions for Little Ace and Luffy to trigger _their_ Conqueror's Haki. Theirs wasn't as strong as Ace's, but Ace attributed that to age and complete inexperience and moved on. After all, it was something to celebrate, and Ace had learned with Whitebeard and his crew that passing up an opportunity to party was borderline criminal.

Plus, he was hungry. Haki took concentration and a hell of a lot of energy.

The troublesome trio went into the forest, with Ace splitting off from his younger self and Luffy to search for something more exotic than crocodile or boar meat.

An hour of searching paid off as he stumbled across a young bear. Grinning, he held up one fist, concentrated, and coated the hand in Armament Haki. As though sensing the unavoidable ass-kicking, the young bear tried to run, but Ace was on it in an instant and the single punch knocked it to the ground and caved in the thing's skull, killing it instantly. Ace landed and shook out his fist, watching as the black sheen left his skin. Silently, he thanked Marco for sticking with the lessons until Ace could coat his fist; he could do very little else, but that was enough.

Carrying the bear back to Dadan's hideout was easy enough and Ace paid little attention to the two structures outside the building, marked "Ace's Country" and "Luffy's Country". It was almost cute.

Luffy and Little Ace bounded up to Ace when he was just a few steps from the door, with Luffy babbling excitedly about how they'd managed to catch not one, not two, but _three_ deer. They were carrying them on their backs, with Little Ace carrying two. Ace grinned indulgently and then jerked a thumb at the bear carcass behind him.

Seeing the two boys' jaws drop and their eyes bug out was incredibly satisfying.

"DADAN!" Luffy called as they entered the hideout. Somehow, the three deer found their way into Dadan's face at high velocity, closely followed by the bear. The bandit leader had no time to react and she went down hard. Luffy, Ace, and Little Ace ignored the dumbstruck faces of the bandits—really, they should have been used to this routine by now—and went back outside, only for Ace to pause.

"Somethin' wrong?" Little Ace asked.

Ace shook his head. "No, I just figured that I could help cook. The bandits kind of make the same thing every time, you know?"

"So?" Luffy asked. "Their meat is good!"

"I've been craving stew," Ace admitted.

Little Ace rolled his eyes. "Lame Old Timer."

"Hey! I'm trying to help!"

"Lame," Little Ace repeated.

"Old Timer," Luffy parroted.

Ace gave up and turned around, marching into the hideout while muttering decidedly uncouth phrases. He went straight into the kitchens, which were surprisingly well stocked given the owners' occupation.

"Where's the bear meat?" He asked the nearest cook. Too distracted by his own tasks, the bandit just pointed to a stack of already cut-up meat. Grinning, Ace cracked his knuckles, thanked the cook, and set too work, recalling the cooking lessons Thatch had provided. It had been a while since he'd really had the chance to cook, but it wouldn't hurt to check how much he still knew.

Ace was putting the finishing touches on the stew when one of the bandits _finally_ realized that the guy screwing around in their kitchen was not, in fact, a bandit. Within moments, Ace found a dagger at his throat and several more poking rather painfully into his back.

"Who the hell are you?" One bandit growled. Ace blinked, caught off-guard, but he quickly got his act together.

"Oh, Dogra didn't let you guys know about me?" He asked, keeping his tone casual.

The dagger at his throat bit deeper into his skin. Luckily, the bandits didn't notice the flames flickering around the blade where blood should have been. Ace was in no mood to have his throat slit, thank you very much.

"Why the hell would Dogra know some thief like you?"

 _Thief?_ Ace frowned until understanding dawned on him. He'd waltzed into their kitchen and, for all intents and purposes, stolen their bear meat to make his stew. Well, he had to set that straight right away.

"No, no, I'm not a thief. That meal's for everyone. The name's Spade." Well, who said he wasn't nostalgic?

"Spade? Why do you have that ASCE tattoo on your arm, then?"

"Uh—that's my last name. Ace D. Spade. You sure you didn't hear about me? I'm Ace's . . . cousin. Twice removed. There was a messy divorce, you know how it is. C'mon, guys, work with me here. Has Ace never told you guys about me? Man, that's harsh. You, what's your name?"

"Uh . . . Mack."

"Right, Mack. Go and get Ace. He'll clear this up. He's the one that helped me out."

The bandit gulped but pressuring looks from the other bandits convinced him to go. He left, only to return a minute later with an irate Little Ace. Ace offered his best grin. "Hey, Ace! Remember me, your good cousin Spade? It's been a while, hasn't it? Haven't seen you since that run-in in Edge Town all those months ago! Thanks for bailing me out of trouble, by the way. I've never been a fan of drowning in the ocean."

Little Ace mouthed the word "cousin" with confusion on his face before he groaned. "Oh, Spade. Right. What the hell are you doing here?"

"Well, I thought I'd help you guys cook the bear I got, but your friends here aren't helping anything."

Little Ace's gaze went to Ace's neck where the knife was noticeably heating up from so much contact with fire. He blinked and then turned a flat look on the bandits. "Let him go. He's my cousin."

"Twice removed," Ace put in, somewhat impressed at his own acting abilities. Was it narcissistic to compliment himself? His younger self?

"But—"

"Let. Him. Go."

And they did.

Dadan was quite dubious of "Spade", but upon seeing how easily he interacted with the young Ace and Luffy, she le it go. Especially after he demonstrated an appetite just as prodigious as the other two brats'. They battled over every hunk of meat, over every bowl of stew (and that disappeared rather quickly; Ace felt proud right up until a bowl of the borderline scalding liquid was spilled over his lap by an overeager Luffy). The room had quickly become a free-for-all food fight, and it quickly became apparent that no one was safe.

Ace managed to enlist the help of the cooks after helping them in the kitchen and they dragged the only table in the room to one corner and set up a rudimentary base. Ace gave them quick field instructions, setting up a defense line to hold up against the all-out attack by Luffy and Little Ace, who had the backing of the rest of the bandits.

The pirate managed to hit Luffy in the face with a sizeable chunk of meat but the boy just caught it in his mouth and devoured it, responding by hurling the bones of what had once been deer at Ace. He missed most of the time but took out several cooks that had been trying to hide behind Ace.

"We've got men down!" Ace roared, falling back behind the table and hearing various bits of who-knew-what crashing against the wooden barricade. "Move to fill their positions!"

The fight devolved into an all-out melee and Ace enjoyed every second of it, even when he got another bowl of soup smashed into his face by his younger self. The kid had used Luffy's natural bounciness to launch a sneak attack by pushing Luffy down and then using him as a kind of springboard. Ace was too busy laughing to care, and he got himself back mere moments later through a leg of meat to the stomach.

By the end of it, Ace was covered in bits of food, a smell that would take a week to dissipate entirely, and a grin only matched by the ones on Luffy and Little Ace's faces. Most of the bandits were unconscious or semiconscious on the ground, and Ace offered the cooks quick congratulations for their valiant efforts. The few still conscious managed to say that he would be welcome back in the kitchens as long as he didn't start another food fight.

It was the best meal Ace had eaten in a long while.

* * *

 _A/N Strangely enough, I've never actually been in a food fight. With the way it was portrayed when I was little, I figured they'd be a lot more common. I'm almost disappointed._

 _Reviews:_

 _ScarletRoofs: Nah, don't worry about that._

 _Yorozuya: My planning consists of a vague idea of the ending, a few one shots after the ending, and a semi-clear idea of what's going on in-between. In short, no real plan. This Ace (the older one) is the canon Ace that died at Marineford, while the younger one is (I guess) an AU version, though he's practically the same._

 _You guys liked Makino last chapter. She'll probably show up again, though I can't be sure. Anyway, the next chapter should be out . . . well, I've got no idea. Soon-ish, I guess._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	10. Chapter 10

_I think things are going pretty well. I should finish writing this story within the next two weeks, maybe sooner than that, and then the update dates for each chapter will hopefully get bumped up. Maybe even daily updates . . . not. Man, that would be impossible._

* * *

Chapter 10

Ace was helping Luffy and Little Ace search for anything cool in the Gray Terminal when it happened. Word had always spread through the place like wildfire and that day was no different; within minutes of their arrival, the Whitebeard Pirates had been known to be there throughout the Goa Kingdom.

Unsure of what to do, Ace ushered Luffy and his younger self away from the Gray Terminal, telling them that he'd meet them back at the tree house in a few hours and warning them not to come back to the Gray Terminal under _any_ circumstances.

Surprisingly enough, they obeyed. Well, Little Ace obeyed. Luffy complained about wanting to meet "real pirates", but he was helpless against his older brother.

Ace spent a good five minutes inwardly debating why the _hell_ the Whitebeard Pirates would be anywhere near the Goa Kingdom. He'd never met them in the past—or even really heard of them—so why show up now? Deciding to see what hearsay had to offer, Ace stealthily snuck through the piles of trash in the Gray Terminal and began to eavesdrop. Luckily, the people of the Gray Terminal had no qualms about speaking loudly.

"Did you hear? The Whitebeard Pirates are here."

"'Course I heard. Shit like that don't happen without everyone knowin' 'bout it."

"If you're so smart, why're they in a place like this?"

Ace heard the person snort. "'Cause they like to fuck with people, probably. I heard it's freakin' the hell out of the nobles."

"Good."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure of the reason. I've heard that the Yonko are a weird bunch, anyway."

Ace grinned. They had no idea. When the conversation offered no more information, Ace went in search of another, making sure to stick to the shadows. He was suddenly very conscious of the mark on his back; the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't met him yet, wouldn't for another seven years. What was he supposed to do?

"I hear they're lookin' for an imposter."

The words froze Ace in his tracks and he quickly locked on to the discussion happening on the other side of the trash pile, keeping his breathing near silent while his heart pounded in his chest, each beat making his breathing stutter.

"That's stupid. Where'd you hear that?"

"What, you don't trust me?"

"You tried to stab me in the back yesterday over that necklace."

"You said it was pearls or somethin'."

"I was _lyin'_ , dumbass! Now answer the question!"

"Fine, fine."

Ace wanted to rip his hair out but he forced himself to be patient.

"Y'see, there was some Whitebeard Pirates combin' the Gray Terminal earlier, lookin' for someone. Heard 'em mutterin 'bout some prick posin' as a Whitebeard Pirate here some months ago."

Ace's eyes widened.

"You talkin' 'bout that weird day when that fireball came over the wall?"

"Yup. Apparently that guy had a Whitebeard tattoo on his back. Crazy bastard to pull somethin' like that, if ya ask me."

"Who'd want ta bring down a Yonko on his head? Poor kid. Probably didn't realize what he was doin'."

"He'll get what's comin' ta him, for sure."

Ace blocked out the rest of the conversation and began heading back to the forest, heart in his throat. He should've known that the stupid razor incident would come back to bite him. No doubt word about his tattoo had gotten out and they'd figured out just who he was. Or, at least, whom he was connected to.

"But how did they find out?" Ace muttered aloud, trying to figure it out. "Maybe they intercepted a call? Wouldn't put it past them . . ."

"Wouldn't put it past who, yoi?"

Ace froze, one foot on the path leading to the tree house from the Gray Terminal. A shiver ran down his spine at the animosity he could hear in the speaker's voice and the heavy glare set on his back. Slowly, he turned, already knowing what he would see but needing to check just to make sure.

It was Marco. His normally half-lidded yet relaxed expression now looked very angry, and all that anger was directed squarely at Ace.

 _Do I tell him? Do I run?_

"Hello," Ace greeted, his voice steadier than he thought it would be.

 _"Why didn't you just abandon me?!"_

"I'm not here to be polite," Marco said, his expression never changing. "I'll be honest with you, kid. You've got guts. But you made a serious mistake by faking Oyaji's mark, yoi."

Ace swallowed, his gaze darting around and catching the watchful eyes of the people that lived in the Gray Terminal. Quickly, he came to the decision that he couldn't do this here. At least Luffy and Little Ace were safe and hidden away, meaning he didn't have to worry about them getting caught in the crossfire. So, in a reckless move that would have made Luffy proud, Ace turned and sprinted into the forest, already planning out his route before he took a single step.

"Hey!"

Marco was by no means slow. He couldn't, however, go into his phoenix form to catch up to Ace by air because the tree canopy would have blocked his view, and Ace was _fast_. He'd grown up in these woods, after all, and he knew all of its secrets.

Still, Ace spent the entire trip worrying that a very irritated firebird was about to peck out his eyes. It was nerve wracking, to say the least, but he kept running.

It took him almost fifteen minutes of straight sprinting to make it to the cove and by the time he stopped in the middle of the beach, hands on his knees and breathing hard, he was inclined to train using cardio more. Sensing Marco arriving, Ace sucked in a deep breath and stood straight, not letting any emotions show on his face. He settled with a scowl that was almost exactly like the one he had worn all the time in the first months of Whitebeard's recruitment.

"Tell me right now why I shouldn't bind you to an anchor and throw you into the ocean," Marco said, somehow even more angry than he had been before.

"Please don't do that," Ace replied. Before Marco could say anything, Ace held up his hands in the universal "I mean no harm" gesture. "Look, the only reason I ran is because I didn't want to talk when everyone in the Gray Terminal and their grandma could listen and watch. I knew you'd follow."

"You're not making a good case for yourself. Explain the mark on your back; I've never seen you before and you're not part of Oyaji's crew."

Hearing Marco say those words hurt, but Ace didn't let any sign of it show on his face.

"It's a long story, Marco, so just give me a minute too—"

And suddenly, Ace couldn't breathe anymore. Marco's hand was around his throat, squeezing, and his eyes were so _hostile_ and _angry_ and Ace scrabbled desperately at the man's hands. "M—Marco!" He managed to gasp. "Stop!" But the man didn't and Ace could see black spots dancing in his vision until he remembered that he had a Devil Fruit.

He turned into fire and put some distance between himself and the Phoenix, coughing and massaging his throat.

"Don't act so familiar," Marco ordered. "Who are you, and why are you pretending to be a pirate?"

"I'm not pretending anything!" Ace snapped, voice rough but full of conviction. "I'm a pirate, dammit!"

"Why do you have Oyaji's mark on your back?"

And because Ace was an idiot and _motherfuckin' Marco was standing a few steps away_ , he told the truth. "I got it tattooed there."

"Why?"

That wasn't a question he could answer. Marco should've known—but this wasn't _his_ Marco, the one that had gently pushed him to join Whitebeard's crew even when he was nothing but an angry, sulking brat, this was a man hunting down an impostor that dared to misuse Oyaji's name. But that didn't mean that Ace could answer the question, so he stayed silent.

Marco's eyes narrowed. There was something about the quiet kid standing in front of him that seemed off. He kept looking at Marco, opening his mouth to say something, only to close it again as an odd kind of grief flashed in his eyes. And when Marco had asked about the tattoo, the kid acted like he'd been shot even though he had clearly demonstrated that he was a Logia Devil Fruit user (and how the hell did a Devil Fruit like that end up on an island like _this_ , anyway?) and shouldn't have been affected. After all, he'd clearly faked the tattoo. It didn't hold the same meaning for him as it did for the actual members of Whitebeard's crew; hell, it was a slap to the face for all of them, the reason why they were so determined to teach this kid a lesson in pain.

So why did Marco get the odd feeling that he was supposed to _know_ this kid?

Deciding that he'd had enough of the silence, Marco crossed his arms. "At least tell me your name."

"Ace," the boy replied immediately. "Portgas D. Ace."

The name didn't ring any bells for Marco, but he kept his mild irritation from showing on his face. He was surprised that the kid was so forthcoming; for a moment, he suspected that the kid had given a fake name, and then dismissed that notion when he saw the tattoo on his arm. "Why did you fake Oyaji's mark, kid?"

"It's not—" Ace paused, swallowed, and continued—"not fake! I wouldn't fake anything like this!"

Marco's eyes narrowed and Ace tensed when he saw blue flames beginning to lick at Marco's clothing. "I'm giving you one last chance, Ace. You don't seem like a bad guy, but you can't pretend to be a part of our family like this."

"I'm not pretending anything!" Ace snapped, but his voice cracked halfway through and Marco found himself wondering just why the kid's eyes appeared to be watering.

Marco sighed, preparing to put the brat out of his misery. He'd committed a crime, after all, and no one tarnished Whitebeard's name. Not even a kid that didn't look a day older than twenty-two.

"DON'T HURT ACE!"

The phoenix stepped back, his eyes widening slightly as a small body careened through the area he'd just occupied, nearly going into the surf and quite literally _bouncing_ on the sand. He had no time to think about that, however, since he found a metal pipe being shoved way too close to his face.

"I don't know who you are," the holder of the pipe— _another_ brat, this time probably only eleven or twelve—"but get the hell out of here and stop threatening him. He hasn't done anything to you."

Marco glanced up at the oldest boy and was a little surprised to see traces of anger on his face.

"Luffy! Ace! Why aren't you back at the tree house? I told you to stay there!"

The youngest kid ran over to the oldest and poked him in the chest, a sight that was made almost comical by the fact that he had to go up on his toes. "We're not gonna leave you here alone! You're my brother!"

"Luffy, it's _dangerous_ —"

"We can handle it!" The kid with the pipe shot the pirate impersonator a blistering glare. "Like hell we would just abandon you! Plus, isn't this guy part of your crew?"

Marco blinked, trying to process the new information. That little kid with the pipe was also named Ace? And the other Luffy? Why did the oldest and that pipe-carrier have the same name? Were they brothers? And what did that littler Ace mean? Had the bigger Ace somehow convinced him that he was _actually_ a part of Whitebeard's crew?

"He's not part of my crew," Marco eventually said, immediately drawing the attention of all three boys. He hid his surprise when the youngest stuck out his lip.

"Of course not! Not yet! He's from the future, you—mmph!"

"Luffy," the bigger Ace hissed, keeping his hand clamped firmly over Luffy's mouth, "shut. _Up._ "

Marco felt a headache coming on. What was going on here? He thought it would be simple; find the idiot pretending to be one of Whitebeard's sons and kick his ass. Now he had _this_ mess and he honestly didn't know what to make of it.

But the little Luffy kid was having none of it and Marco heard the bigger Ace curse. Luffy had bitten his hand and Ace was shaking it out, muttering about fire and warning his brother to be more careful. Luffy, however, was still looking—glaring—at Marco, oblivious to the aura of danger that Marco emitted unconsciously.

"Listen up, Pineapple!" Marco had to stop himself from twitching; he thought he'd gotten over the pineapple jokes, but apparently not. "Ace is a part of your crew, or he's gonna be in a little bit, so stop being a jerk and hurting him! He's an awesome pirate and he's really proud of that mark on his back so stop being mean and dumb and—and—and—stupid!"

The bigger Ace was frozen, staring down at the little kid with shock on his face, while the smaller one looked to be contemplating hitting Luffy over the head with the pipe that was _still_ way too close to Marco's face for his liking.

"Luffy, you _idiot_ ," the bigger Ace eventually sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We're trying to keep the future thing a secret, remember?"

And suddenly, things clicked for Marco. The way the tattoo looked way too much like Sain's handiwork, the way Ace had been looking at him with a desperate kind of hope the entire time, the way Ace had been saying his name with a strange familiarity, the way Ace looked as though he'd been punched every time Marco accused him of faking Oyaji's mark. It was ridiculous, it was stupid, it was completely unlikely, but—

It was the only explanation, because suddenly Marco understood why there were two kids with the same name, why they looked so similar (even their freckles were the same!), why Marco kept getting that strange feeling whenever he looked at the older Ace for too long.

"So that's how it is," Marco said, still keeping that almost bland tone in his voice, one that he'd practiced time and time again on Whitebeard's ship when the crew's mischief had reached unbearable levels. The boys' gazes snapped to him and each one looked ready for a fight. Marco put up his hands and then carefully pushed the pole out of his face. "I'm not going to fight you three." He looked at the oldest Ace, and he must have seen something in Marco's eyes because he relaxed, a grateful smile forming on his face. "After all, if you're supposed to join my crew, trouble now would cause problems later, yoi."

"Marco," the bigger Ace said, and there was an incredible amount of relief in just those two syllables. "Thanks. Really."

"Don't mention it. Just be careful from now on. The Marines are coming after us, yoi. They'll be here in a day."

"Good to know." Ace paused and then asked the question that had been bugging him the entire time. "Why did the entire crew come all the way out here, anyway? The East Blue is pretty far from the New World."

"Oyaji needed some medicine and the nurses were saying that it would take too long for a ship to come here and go back to the New World, so they brought him here."

"I hope you gave the nobles in town heart attacks."

Marco smiled, remembering how more than a few of the stuck-up people had passed out upon seeing the pirates swarming the town. "We did. I take it you don't like them?"

Ace's grin took on a malicious cast that was emphasized by the younger Ace's hooded glare. "Oh, something like that."

"Well, happy to be of service." Marco left it up to the group to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "I'll be going, then."

"Wait!"

Marco glanced back at the oldest boy. "What?"

"Are you—are you going to tell the crew about this?"

The First Division Commander shook his head, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I don't see why they have to know, yoi. It'll be all the more of a surprise later."

And then Marco left, taking the tense atmosphere with him.

* * *

 _A/N Hey, Marco!_

 _Reviews:_

 _Nala1220: Don't worry, that does come up. In a few chapters. (I kind of put it off for a while 'cause i wasn't sure how to write it . . . whoops.)_

 _I'm always happy to hear from you guys, and I'm glad you like the story!_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	11. Chapter 11

_Two more chapters to go!_

 _Kind of. I mean, two more chapters for me to_ write _. There are still, like, 8 more chapters to go after this one. I just have to_ — _well, you get the point. Next update should be within the next few days if everything goes as planned._

* * *

Chapter 11

Unfortunately, Ace, Luffy, and Little Ace had little time to even think about their encounter with the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. They spent the rest of the day preparing for the inevitable Marine sweep of the island. It was highly unlikely that the Marines would go into the forest, but the brothers prepared a backup shelter just in case and even warned Dadan and her bandits about what was coming the next day.

Once their preparations were complete, they sat outside the bandit hideout. Luffy had found some beetles and was playing with them while Ace and his younger counterpart played cards. Well, tried to.

Ace had picked up the cards while in Fuusha Village and had forgotten about them until just that morning (he usually forgot about the things he stuck in the blue pouch looped around his leg; Thatch had pranked him more than a few times by putting chocolate in it, which melted very quickly thanks to Ace's abnormally warm body). At the moment, he was trying to teach his younger counterpart solitaire, a game that one of his old Spade Pirate crewmates had taught him while they were sailing to another island. The guy had only done it because Ace had been restlessly pacing across the deck, full of excitement and anticipation for the adventures yet to come.

"If you get an ace, you put it here," Ace explained, demonstrating. Little Ace watched and then repeated what Ace did, only for the latter to sigh. "No, you can only do that if you come across an ace every three cards. You can't just pick it out of the pile."

"That's stupid."

"It's how the game works!"

"Still stupid."

Ace didn't fault the kid; he'd thought the same thing at first. What was the point of just wasting time? But his crewmember—Splint had been his nickname and Ace had never forced him to explain its origins—had been patient and forced Ace to learn the game. It was calming, and Ace had found quickly that it organized his thoughts in a way that pacing and running a hand through his hair didn't.

"I understand that, but trust me, it'll come in handy later."

"How?"

"Can't say."

Little Ace rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. I bet I'll beat you soon."

Ace grinned, accepting the challenge. "Really?"

"All I need to do is have more cards in those ace piles than you do, right? That's not hard."

"Keep being cocky and you'll lose right away," Ace warned, but he was still smiling. After all, he'd been pretty good at the game right off the bat and was confident that he could beat himself. It all came down to a mix of luck, planning, and observation. He had a decent mix of the latter two and figured he could fake the first well enough. After all, he'd been playing this game for years whereas Little Ace had just—

"I win."

"Wait, what?"

Blinking, Ace examined the game that he'd been playing on autopilot. With a sinking feeling in his chest he realized that his younger self had managed to put all his cards in the ace piles. Ace groaned, running a hand through his hair and setting his cards down.

Little Ace, for his part, had his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "What, you a sore loser? After all, you just got beaten by a first-timer. _Lame_."

"I'm not lame!"

"Lame!" Luffy called from where he was still playing with bugs.

"You're not even a part of this conversation, Lu!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Thanks to his earlier stunt in the kitchens, Ace was now welcome in the bandit base, and they even encouraged him to help with cooking since he was better than most (if not all) of the chefs there. They were bandits, after all. No one had bothered to learn advanced cooking skills while on the run and living in the middle of a forest.

The Marines had come that day, doing a thorough sweep of Edge Town and High Town as well as the Gray Terminal in search of "an elusive Whitebeard Pirate", or something along those lines. Either way, Ace found it funny when a patrol got too curious and journeyed into the forest, only to get chased out by the extremely territorial beasts that lurked within. They were East Blue Marines, after all; they weren't exactly strong. Reinforcements from stronger areas would take way too long to arrive, anyway, and even the people at Marine Headquarters knew that Whitebeard would be long gone by the time an admiral or two showed up.

Even so, Ace felt inexplicable relief when the Marines left. He still felt a faint burn in his chest whenever he saw the all-too-familiar blue and white uniform.

Now, however, the young man was trying to get as much meat into his mouth as possible before Luffy's impressively quick hands managed to steal it away. Little Ace was having similar difficulties and the bandits nearby had all but given up on actually having dinner, since Luffy's stomach appeared to be nigh bottomless.

"Lu, I was gonna eat that!" Ace growled, trying to grab Luffy's wrist before the boy could steal a particularly juicy leg of meat.

"Too slow!" Luffy declared, stretching his limb and taking a massive bite of the food. Scowling, Ace retaliated by stealing some of the food from Luffy's plate, only for _that_ food to be taken by his younger self. What ensued was an all-out battle for dinner, with more than a few unfortunate bandits getting dragged into the fray.

"Stop stealing my dinner!" Little Ace snapped as Ace valiantly struggled to reclaim his meal.

"Oh, stop complaining!" Ace retorted, reaching for one of the few remaining pieces of food. "You're gonna be a pirate; who cares about stealing?"

""m g'nnabepirathking!" Luffy half-shouted around the food crammed in his mouth.

"Hey, you brats!" Dadan roared as a particularly large bone—picked clean thanks to the three local black holes—smacked her in the face. "Watch where you're . . . throwing . . ." The bandit leader abruptly went quiet as and face paled.

Ace froze, a strange, foreboding feeling washing over him and causing goose bumps to rise on his skin. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore. Hell, his instincts were telling him to run, and run far. There was only one person capable of making him feel this way.

Glancing discreetly to either side, Ace noticed that Luffy and Little Ace wore similar expressions, both of their faces full of dread. They almost looked sick.

He really didn't want to turn around. Really, _really_ didn't want to turn around. There was something horrible behind him, something absolutely monstrous and equally dangerous. Turning around would be a very, very bad idea.

But, for some reason, he still found himself slowly turning his neck, as though prolonging the discovery would help in any way. There was something dark in the doorway, a malicious light in its eyes, and the dread in Ace's stomach multiplied tenfold. It only worsened when he heard the voice.

"Pirates, eh? Dadan, just what have you been teaching these boys?"

"G—Garp!" Dadan all but squeaked. It would have been funny to Ace had he not been nursing the new bump on his head, courtesy of a Fist of Love that he had no chance to dodge. Little Ace and Luffy were in much the same predicament and all three were groaning under their breath.

"I told you to stop them from becoming pirates!" Garp roared, bopping the three boys another time and sending each one to the floor. Most of the bandits in the room had already fled, fearing the wrath of Garp the Hero, and with good reason.

"What do you expect from a bunch of mountain bandits?" Dadan spat. Garp's eyebrow twitched.

"What?"

"Oh, we've been trying so hard! We can't believe they haven't taken our lessons to heart! Every day; 'don't be a pirate, Ace, Luffy!' 'Be like your grandfather'!"

Garp snorted but let the matter go as he turned his attention back to the three boys. "All right, you three. As punishment for saying that horrible word, we're going to train. Ace, Luffy, Big Ace, we're going out."

"Now?" Luffy groaned. "I don't wanna!"

"What was that, you brat?"

Luffy whimpered, ducking behind Ace, who flinched when Garp's gaze landed on him. "Lu," he hissed, "what are you _doing_?"

"You're a shield!" The youngest declared quietly. Then he looked at Ace with his big, round eyes and Ace felt his resistance melting. "Unless you don't wanna be . . . then I'll just run."

"You wouldn't make it very far," Little Ace pointed out, wincing and rubbing his head. "'Cause this crazy old geezer would chase you down like a madman."

"I told you to call me Grandpa! Show some respect!"

Little Ace managed to dodge the first fist but got nailed by the second. He lay sprawled on the ground, clearly dazed and dizzy. Luffy immediately darted out from behind Ace, his mouth already opening to defend his older brother, but Ace pulled him out of the way right as Garp's fist careened through the space where Luffy's head would have been.

"And YOU," the marine began, "should think before you speak! You're going to be a great marine! Not some thieving pi . . . rate." It finally seemed to register with Garp that he'd missed his target. Ace knew from experience that that never happened. Ace stared at Garp and the aging marine stared right back.

The silence went on for almost a full awkward minute, during which the bandits stealthily left the room, only making enough noise to wake half the forest instead of the whole thing. Little Ace and Luffy were edging to the door, but Ace felt at least a little touched that they hadn't started sprinting yet. They were attached enough to him to risk Garp's wrath; that was something, wasn't it?

Oh, Garp was still staring at him. Ace swallowed; he remembered how his grandfather had acted in Marineford. He _understood_ why Garp was such an overprotective idiot, but—

 _"I have no sympathy for criminals . . . But for family, I do."_

That didn't make him any less irritated with the guy. Or mildly afraid of his Fist of Love. (Having a 550,000,000-beri bounty meant _nothing_ in the face of a Fist of Love.)

Speaking of which, had he been hitting them with Haki the entire time? It would certainly explain why his punches were so damn _strong_.

"Who the hell are you?" The marine hero asked after a beat. Ace resisted the urge to face-fault, since Garp had literally referred to him as "Big Ace" less than a minute ago.

Silence reigned for a solid ten seconds while Ace scrambled to think up an actual response. His grandpa didn't recognize him? Had he really changed that much?

A small voice in the back of his mind reminded Ace that he couldn't really blame Garp; he definitely looked a lot different than he had before, and Garp hadn't seen him for a few months before Ace left Dawn Island. The marines had been getting busier and busier as time went on as newer pirates caused more and more trouble, so Garp hadn't been able to visit as much. Not that Ace was complaining.

Much to Ace's surprise, it was Luffy who spoke up. "He's our cousin!"

"Twice removed," Little Ace added, quickly stepping in front of Luffy to shield him from Garp's view.

"Cousin?" Garp repeated, looking at Ace with a far more dangerous expression. Ace swallowed. "Twice removed?"

Ace thought that maybe this hadn't been the greatest of his ideas. No doubt Garp thought he was some kind of impostor out to get the two boys, and at worst the marine suspected that Ace _knew_ their heritages and would want to . . . eliminate the potential threat.

"Oh, _fuck_ ," Ace said, never breaking eye contact with the rather irate Vice Admiral standing a step away. Garp grinned. It was a grin that promised pain.

"I would start running."

Ace had two options. He could stay and fight, exposing his ability and the fact that he was from the future to all the bandits watching from the other doorways, or he could run like hell and have a talk with Garp in the forest. They would fight anyway, of course, but there was a far smaller chance of serious collateral damage. Option two sounded much better.

So Ace dove past Garp, getting to his feet and sprinting out into the encroaching night, hearing rather than seeing Garp turn to give chase. He could also hear Luffy and Little Ace calling his name, and hoped that the two wouldn't follow. Their fear of Garp could probably keep them in place until the worst of the encounter was over.

Ace sprinted as though his life depended on it, tearing through the forest and simply burning through any vines or roots that tried to trip him up. He kept his eyes open and his senses alert, searching for a clearing that would allow him to talk to Garp—at a safe distance.

It took almost a minute but Ace finally found what he was looking for. He flew across it, eventually settling on the opposite side, giving him a fair bit of distance from the tree line where Garp would probably emerge. Sure enough, the marine came crashing through the underbrush mere seconds later, stopping in the clearing when he realized that Ace was no longer running.

"Finally gave up, eh?" Garp asked, grinning and straightening to his full height. "Smart. Now tell me what you were doing with those two brats."

Ace put up his hands, trying to appear nonthreatening. "Calm down, Gramps." Then he realized what he said and cursed.

"Gramps?" Garp repeated, his eyes narrowing. Ace felt his position getting very perilous very quickly and he hastened to fix it.

"Sorry, it slipped out. Um—shit. Don't know what to say."

"You've got three seconds."

"Uh—"

"Two."

"Fucking hell, I need more time than that!"

"One."

"Fine! I'm from the future! I'm Ace!"

The seconds stretched for longer than seconds should have been capable of stretching and the very air held its breath. Ace and Garp stared at each other, with Ace silently willing his adoptive grandfather to understand. Abruptly, Garp broke eye contact, rubbing his beard and looking up at the sky.

"Gramps?" Ace ventured, unsure what was going through the marine's mind. The older man sighed. In that moment, he looked so tired, nothing like the brash, confident Vice Admiral Ace knew so well.

"I came here under the impression that a Whitebeard Pirate could be threatening my grandsons," he said, though it was impossible to tell whether his words were meant for Ace or not. "I get here, the Whitebeard Pirates are gone, and I find a strange man claiming to be my grandson's cousin eating with them. The mark on his back identifies him as a Whitebeard Pirate, but I've never seen him before. Then the brat runs away, stops, and tells me he's from the future."

"It sounds a bit unbelievable when you put it like that," Ace admitted. "But it's the truth."

"Is it now?" Garp's voice was decidedly more dangerous than it had been before. "Then would you care to explain why you bear the mark of a pirate instead of the proud crest of the marines?"

Ace swallowed, his mouth going suddenly dry. "Luck?"

"WRONG ANSWER!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Twenty Fists of Love and three libraries' worth of cursing later, Ace and Garp were sitting across from each other on fallen trees, the clearing a mess of charred nature and splintered nature. The entire forest probably would have caught fire had Ace not been actively trying to avoid that outcome. Still, there had been far too many close calls.

Garp was _strong_ , dammit. But now they were both tired, Garp mostly because his endurance had been steadily declining over the years (though he made a point of the fact that he could still kick the asses of wannabe pirates any day) and Ace because he was only _twenty_ and hadn't even fully developed his Haki despite spending almost three years in the Grand Line—the New World, no less.

"So you're really him, huh?" Garp said, giving Ace one of his rare I'm-actually-serious looks that unnerved the boy so much. Ace just nodded as he prodded a bruise already turning black that hadn't been on his arm five minutes before. "Heh. Of course a troublemaking brat like you would go to Whitebeard."

"He came to me, actually," Ace said, grinning as he recalled that fateful day, when he had fought Jinbe to a standstill and still had the energy to try to give his crew a chance to escape the Yonko that had just pulled up to the island _out of motherfucking nowhere_.

"Oh? How'd that go?"

"Got my ass kicked," Ace admitted almost cheerfully.

Garp let out a sharp bark of laughter. "'Course you did, brat! Whitebeard was on par with Roger! He's not a man you can defeat!"

Ace's face reddened slightly at his grandpa's amusement. "It worked out in the end!"

Garp abruptly stopped laughing. "Well, no it didn't."

"Eh?"

"Why would you be here if it did?"

Ace's blood ran cold and it must have showed on his face because Garp held up his hands. "I'm not going to ask what happened. Hell, I don't really care. But don't think that just because you're a pirate in the future I'm going to stop trying to make you into a marine!"

"I'm going to be a pirate! I _am_ a pirate, dammit!"

"You're going to be a marine!"

"Pirate!"

"Marine!"

"Pirate!"

"Marine!"

"Pirate!"

" _Marine_!"

" _Pirate_!"

" _Marine_!"

" _Pirate_!"

"MARINE!"

"PIRATE!"

The two growled at each other, having gotten way too close and personal at some moment during their shouting match, to the point where their foreheads were quite literally pressed together. The tension in the air was palpable and any wild animals with at least a shred of base intelligence had long since fled the area.

Then Garp started laughing, slapping Ace on the back hard enough to send the pirate staggering. "You never change!"

"I could say the same thing, damn old man!" Ace muttered. Unfortunately, Garp heard him.

"What was that?"

"N-nothing!"

"ACE! AAAAAACEEEEEEEE!"

"Quiet, Luffy! What if the old geezer hears you?"

"BUT I WANNA FIND ACE!"

"Luffy, shut up!"

"ACE!"

Ace winced at the sound of something slamming against flesh and didn't feel particularly surprised when Luffy came barreling out of the underbrush, quite literally rolling to a stop right between Ace and Garp. Not for the first time, Ace cursed Luffy's horrible timing. _Garp_ was right there! He'd probably go after Luffy!

Little Ace stumbled out of the bushes a moment later and then froze at the sight of Garp. His gaze then went to Luffy, to his older self, to Garp, and then back to Luffy.

"You idiot!" He snapped, quickly marching over to Luffy. At first glance, he appeared to be genuinely angry, but Ace noted that his younger self had carefully moved so that he was between Luffy and Garp, cutting off the man's sight.

"Oh, good," Garp said. He sounded entirely too happy, and Ace didn't like the look on his face at all. "You two are just in time for training."

All three gulped. Ace could only hope that his intangibility would save him. But, knowing his luck, Garp's Haki would render his abilities useless.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"W—wait," Ace grunted, staggering to his feet and resisting the urge to prod at what was going to be a mosaic of bruises on his stomach the next morning. Garp turned, one eyebrow raised.

"What do you want, brat? That's all the training for today."

"Haki," Ace said, finally getting his balance. "I want to master Haki, but I don't know where to start."

Garp looked thoughtful; Ace tried not to be weirded out. "Haki, eh? It's a matter of will. Never cared to learn anything else about the details; I just did it."

Ace wasn't surprised, but he supposed that Garp's most recent bout of training _had_ helped Ace with his Armament Haki; about one in twelve times he'd managed to soften or even nullify one of Garp's punches. Ace opened his mouth to say something else, but Garp had already disappeared into the forest. Sighing, the pirate turned to Luffy and Little Ace, wincing when he saw their conditions. He wasn't much better, of course, but his pain tolerance and stamina had increased dramatically over the years.

"I should probably fix you two up," Ace muttered, gently picking them up. He arranged them in the most comfortable positions he could and then headed off into the forest, warning away any animals with a simple glare.

* * *

 _A/N And there's the Garp encounter you people have been waiting for. I'll admit, I got stuck about halfway through, but it worked out in the end._

 _Reviews:_

 _Guest: Marco isn't going to tell anyone; he might mention the fact that the kid he encountered on the island might make it to the Grand Line one day, but he won't go into details._

 _XxFire-PhoenixxX: I can't seem to track Luffy down at the moment, so the kisses'll have to wait._

 _Johnny Spectre: See previous response, plus: The Whitebeard Pirates couldn't stay on the island for very long because they had business to attend to in the Grand Line, meaning that they really didn't have time to have Ace board their ship and talk things out._

 _Narya Anima: There will be a meeting in a later chapter. It's shaping up to be . . . very interesting._

 _Nala1220: I don't plan on doing a sequel to this. As for why I didn't have the little ones on the Moby Dick, see Johnny Spectre's response._

 _Guest: Ace couldn't go with Marco; for one thing, it would've been extraordinarily taxing emotionally for him, since no one on the ship knows who he is. He also wasn't willing to leave Little Ace and Luffy just yet; he wanted to spend more time with them._

 _Man, I love hearing from you guys. A few reviews even gave me ideas in the past, which is why this story is several chapters longer than I thought it was going to be in the beginning._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	12. Chapter 12

_It's been a long, long day. Anyway, remember way back when I mentioned that Ace is a scary dude when he gets angry? Yeah. That's important._

* * *

Chapter 12

 _Many months later_

He didn't notice at first. In his defense, it manifested in small things. Little things. Innocent things.

Like Luffy wanting to stick with Little Ace wherever he went because "he always finds adventures!" or some other silly reason.

Like Luffy casually stealing Little Ace's food at the beginning of each meal, always before Little Ace had a chance to eat any at all.

Like Luffy falling asleep an hour or two later than normal every now and then, or being a much lighter sleeper than Ace remembered him being.

Like Luffy taking hide-and-seek a little too seriously and panicking when he couldn't find either Ace right away.

Like Luffy watching the shadows with wide eyes.

Like Luffy nearly jumping out of his skin when Ace snuck up on him in the Gray Terminal.

Like his skin losing all color.

Like the terror on his face.

After a week and a half of noticing the smaller things—and then the last day when he saw the very real terror on Luffy's childish face—Ace decided that enough was enough. Something was going on with Luffy, and there was no way that the kid was going to just tell him. Ace had already tried that strategy, and all he got for his efforts was confirmation that _something_ was going on, and that _someone_ was behind it.

Sometimes, Ace was thankful that his brother was such a terrible liar.

So he told Little Ace and Luffy that he was going to go hunt on his own for the day, and then discreetly followed the pair as they made their way to the Gray Terminal to get wood to fix their "countries". A recent storm had blown off the shoddily constructed roofs, nearly crushing Luffy in the process. Luckily, Little Ace had reacted quickly and pulled his brother out of the way. Luffy probably would have been fine anyway, but no one wanted to risk it.

Ace felt a small glow of pride when his younger self turned around, nearly catching the observing Ace. The commander had been prepared, however, and he knew he wasn't going to be spotted among the greenery. Shrugging, Little Ace continued walking, absently dragging Luffy out of the way so he wouldn't run into a tree while chasing some sort of flying beetle.

All the while, Ace felt a hot fury simmering beneath his skin.

It took the trio almost an hour to reach the Gray Terminal, but when they did, Little Ace and Luffy split up to look for their own supplies, though they remained within easy shouting distance. They'd gotten much stronger in the past few months, and Ace was confident they could handle anyone that came their way.

Except . . . Ace frowned when he realized there were some punks hanging entirely too close to Luffy as the boy picked his way through piles of trash. They were eyeing the small boy, grinning nastily to each other.

"Hey, Luffy!" One of them called, and Luffy flinched. _Flinched_. "How's your brother doing, huh?"

Luffy's eyes were firmly riveted on his hands while he carefully put aside a large plank of wood.

"C'mon, brat!" Another called, taking a swig of what Ace guessed was alcohol from a small flask. "Don't leave us in suspense! Did any of our _surprises_ reach him yet? You know it's only a matter of time!"

Luffy said something under his breath, but his back was to Ace and the older boy couldn't quite make out the words.

"You can't protect him forever!"

The men burst into jeering laughter, making Ace grit his teeth. His mind whirled, connecting the dots.

At some point, Luffy must have been cornered by them. Before Little Ace or Ace himself could intervene, the men had made some kind of threat against Ace or his younger counterpart. It was the only way Luffy would be so . . . submissive. Normally, he would've fought anyone tooth and nail.

"But he would have more faith in me," Ace muttered, watching carefully. "What could've—oh."

A week back, Little Ace had gotten sick. It was a mild case of food poisoning, nothing serious, but it could be misinterpreted as a genuine poisoning attempt. Now that Ace thought about it, it was at that point that Luffy began sampling Ace's food.

His fury began to boil, but he kept it carefully controlled, schooling his face into a blank mask as he trailed Luffy for the rest of the day, making sure he didn't get into any more trouble. He noticed Little Ace watching Luffy closely as well. The younger boy probably felt that something was off but couldn't quite figure out what it was.

Eventually, Ace got sick of the nervous looks Luffy kept throwing over his shoulder. It twisted the older boy's gut to see his brother so . . . so _worried_ about him. It was supposed to be the other way around; Ace worried about Luffy and kept the idiot out of trouble, and Luffy did whatever he usually did. He was supposed to be carefree.

Ace dropped out of his hiding place, making sure to circle around the brothers. He headed in the direction of the men that had been mocking Luffy, his mind calling up the path easily. For once, Ace's sometimes-questionable sense of direction was nowhere to be found. He knew exactly where he was going.

Dimly, he was aware of Little Ace seeing him and dragging Luffy along. They were calling his name, so Ace paused for just long enough for them to catch up.

"Ace!" Luffy said, grinning. Ace didn't miss the relief in his voice and he grit his teeth. _Bastards_. "Whatcha doin' here?"

"It's 'what are you doing here'," Little Ace said, lightly smacking Luffy. "Makino taught us that the other week, remember?"

"Oh, shishishi, right!"

"Nothing important," Ace said. He tried to sound casual, but underestimated his own intuition. Little Ace frowned.

"What's going on? You're lying to me."

Ace glanced to where the men were. They looked to be getting up, probably heading back into the city. It figured that they were from Edge Town; most of the more . . . unsavory residents resented Little Ace's and Luffy's takeover of most sections of the town.

The dots were connecting in Ace's head and each new revelation was making him get that much closer to bursting into flame.

"Take us with you," Little Ace said firmly.

"What?"

"You heard me." His expression was dark. "You know what's been going on with Luffy. I want to know too."

Ace regarded his younger self evenly for a minute. Then he nodded once. "I'm not going to stop you. Follow me."

And he did, Luffy trailing a step behind, still anxious.

The trio slipped through the gate, barely managing to avoid being spotted by the guards. Ace tracked the group of men through the back alleys, his strides long and angry. Little Ace and Luffy almost had to jog to keep up, but neither asked any questions. Ace appreciated that; he wasn't sure he'd be able to avoid unintentionally snapping at them.

The group of men abruptly stopped, probably sensing that they were being followed. Ace stopped a few yards away from the nearest man, silently gesturing for Little Ace and Luffy to stay back.

"The hell do ya want, punk?" One man spat, obviously slightly drunk. Ace's eyes narrowed.

"What do I want?" He repeated, tilting his head to one side. The action cast a shadow over his face, the brim of his hat doing an admirable job of disguising the impressive rage in his eyes. "I want a lot of things. Your heads on pikes, for one."

"Get away if you know what's good for you," another man threatened.

"Yeah. We haven't even done anything to you; don't challenge us."

Ace's right hand clenched into a fist. "You haven't done anything?" He asked, his voice deadly quiet. "That's not true.

"You . . . _tortured_ my little brother." The brim of Ace's orange hat hid his expression; the only thing anyone could see was his mouth, and it was nothing but a thin line. Unreadable. Emotionless. His voice was cold and empty, far more terrifying than any yelling. "You _chased_ him. You put him through too many sleepless nights and you made him _scared_."

Wisps of smoke began rising from Ace's skin, almost unnoticeable, but the slowly climbing temperature was not. Little Ace watched, dumbstruck, as the fury in his older self's mind physically manifested in the powers of his Devil Fruit.

Luffy swallowed, taking a few steps back as he sensed the change in the atmosphere.

"My little brother was scared for _my_ life." It was getting to be unbearably hot. "My _little_ brother, who I swore to protect, was scared for _my_ life. That's not right. I protect _him_. He shouldn't be losing sleep because he's scared that some stupid fucks will target me while I'm asleep. He shouldn't be following me everywhere just in case I don't realize there's a surprise attack. He shouldn't be checking my food when I'm not looking to make sure that it's not poisoned."

Little Ace stiffened. He hadn't realized Luffy had been doing that. He shot a look at Luffy, seeing a mixture of shame and guilt on the young boy's face.

Ace's hand dropped to his dagger and he pulled it out with ease, the metal reflecting what meager light made it through the fog rising above the Gray Terminal. He grit his teeth, curling his lips into a snarl. "I won't forgive you. Not for hurting my brother. Not for making him worry. You bastards; I'll burn you to ash one fucking limb at a time."

The dagger in Ace's hands began to glow and licks of flame moved almost hypnotically over his fingers. The blade gradually heated, going from cool silver to a disturbing orange in less than a minute.

Little Ace stepped up beside his older self, eyes like flint and fury unmatched by any level of Hell burning within his core as the lengths Luffy had gone to completely registered with him. "You're dead."

Ace finally lifted his head and the thieves took a step back out of instinctual fear. His expression was remarkably calm; it was borderline empty, in fact. His pupils were dilated, the only sign of any anger, and no emotion found its place on his features while his black hair waved in the wind. Despite the flames on his skin and the fire in his eyes, his gaze was so unbearably cold, his fury radiating in freezing waves. The thieves were frozen in place, unable to move at all. Terror grew on their faces as they realized just how much they had screwed up.

In an instant, Ace lunged, spearing the nearest man through the stomach with his dagger. The flesh practically melted around the weapon and the man screamed in agony. Ace's expression never changed as he yanked the blade out.

"Be thankful," he snarled. "Your wounds instantly cauterize. You won't bleed out for _hours_. Even longer if you don't move."

The man whimpered, his face pale as he fell to the ground, and his comrades soon met the same fate. Ace moved between them in a kind of elegant dance, the superheated dagger lashing out like the strikes of a cobra, too fast for anyone to follow. Flames echoed Ace's every movement, charring any bandit that got within ten feet of Ace. He was cold, ruthless, efficient. He showed no mercy, and if anyone put up resistance he took extra care to remove some of his fingers or even an entire limb.

By the time Ace was finished, blood decorated the ground and stuck on his skin in a macabre imitation of freckles. Without a second thought, Ace burned it all off. He cleaned his dagger, sheathed it, and then turned, walking away from the massacre behind him. Some of the men were still groaning in pain, a few pleading for their mothers, others begging for death. Ace paid no heed to any of them.

He doubted they'd survive for very long, especially in a place like Edge Town, _especially_ so close to the entrance to the Gray Terminal. It was one of the most lawless areas save for the Gray Terminal itself.

Little Ace found that he couldn't move. It wasn't horror that he was feeling; no, he felt vindicated. He would've done the exact same thing, though without the addition of the Devil Fruit powers. Seeing that his older self cared for Luffy just as much as he did was gratifying. His fists were clenched tightly around his pipe but he slowly managed to relax them, the strange yet protective anger that had clouded his head receding to some corner of his head.

Still, there was a question bubbling up in his mind.

"A—Ace?" Luffy's voice was small, his hand clutching Shanks's straw hat shaking, much as his body was. It was his first time seeing anything so brutal; his first experience with a real beat down, and it was on his behalf. Sure, Luffy had survived being punched by a spiked glove for hours on end, but the boy had no sense of self-preservation and didn't quite understand that his older brother was perfectly willing to go to equally cruel lengths for Luffy.

Ace looked at his brother, expression hooded. Then he cracked a smile that chased the darkness from his features almost instantly. He looked like an entirely different person than the one that had brutally hurt the men a minute before. "No need to worry, Luffy! Those guys can't hurt me. Not as I am now, not as I ever was. Everything's fine."

The older brother, seeing that Luffy wasn't able to stand up—was he in shock?—reached down and picked him up, his smile dimming slightly. "It's okay, Luffy," he murmured. "I promise. Those assholes won't touch you. Hell, they won't even look at you anymore. If I even hear them say a name I recognize, there won't be enough of them left to fill a jar. It's okay. Plus, you did the right thing. You were worried for me." Ace ruffled Luffy's hair, making sure that the kid wouldn't lose his grip on his straw hat. "Thanks, Lu."

Luffy was still shaking, but it was subsiding. Ace carefully adjusted him so that he was carrying Luffy on his back, and then he turned to Little Ace, who was still holding his pipe and looking like he wanted to kick the shit out of anyone that got too close.

"Hey."

Little Ace didn't react.

" _Hey_."

The boy slowly twisted to look at his older self, a strange look in his eyes. "Does it go away?" He suddenly asked. Ace blinked.

"Does what?"

"The darkness. The anger. The hate." Little Ace glanced at the pipe in his right hand and then slung it over his back, though the act looked as though it pained him. "Well? Does it?"

Ace didn't even hesitate before answering. "Of course not. It just hides."

No one said another word as they headed back to the forest, ducking past the guards at the gate and making their way through the Gray Terminal with far more purpose than when they had entered it.

* * *

 _A/N Does Ace seem OOC? Or Luffy? Or Little Ace? It's hard for me to tell, being the writer and all . . . *sigh*_

 _Reviews:_

 _Nala1220: I do have several other Ace stories, if that eases the whole "no sequel" thing. Plus, the ending should clear things up, and thank you!_

 _poemado: There haven't been many opportunities for Ace to really show off his true powers. His "Hiken" attack has been noted to be able to destroy entire cities, so I don't think I'll be incorporating_ that _level of impressiveness. On the other hand, this chapter did have Luffy and Little Ace noting just how badass Ace is._

 _LittleChomper (and everyone else commenting on Garp): Yeah, the guy's a bit odd. He's almost as driven by instinct as Luffy, so I figured he'd act on impulse instead of on concrete and proven facts. I guess, to that family, facts are boring. Or a mystery._

 _Phantom Trainter: Sadly, no future Sabo/Luffy. They do appear in my other story,_ Things Thought Lost _, however (though not quite yet). I guess future Sabo will be mentioned here, but not in person, if you catch my drift._

 _It's always awesome to hear from you guys!_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	13. Chapter 13

_Guess who just finished writing this story? Updates should be every other day from now on._

* * *

Chapter 13

Ace frowned and stared hard at the glowing green balls of light in front of him. Even in the light of day they were easily visible, their color almost soft. Once his inspection was complete, Ace sighed and detonated the tiny fireballs, creating multiple small explosions in the air that quickly faded away.

He was on the bluff overlooking the ocean, the same one had had gone to when reading Sabo's letter. He'd thought that the familiar and calming scenery would help him train the finer points of his abilities, but he was having very little luck. On the bright side, he had managed to increase the number of explosive fireballs he could make with Hotarubi: Hidaruma, but that was about it.

He sighed again, looking out over the ocean and wondering—not for the first time—why he'd been sent back. Yes, he'd wanted to see Luffy and Sabo again more than anything, but what was the _reason_? His younger self was still there, so all Ace was doing was interfering with his own childhood. He'd tried to be careful, of course, and usually left his brothers and his younger self up to their own devices, but any time he saw they were in danger, protective instincts surged through him and he couldn't help interfering.

It was frustrating and headache-inducing. Ace wondered if he should talk to Makino again, and then decided against it. Plus, she would be coming to the hideout soon; he remembered that his lessons on manners started soon, so he could just wait until then.

Footsteps caught Ace's attention and he turned, catching Little Ace's eye before the younger boy looked away. Little Ace didn't say anything and just moved to stand next to Ace, an unreadable expression on his face.

After several minutes of silence, during which Little Ace sat down by his older equivalent, the younger boy coughed. Ace glanced at him, raising one eyebrow in a silent invitation for the younger to speak.

And speak he did. "Did you . . . did you ever find the answer? To the question, I mean. You know what I mean, right?"

Ace grinned at the way his younger self was stumbling over his words. It was probably a novel experience for the younger boy; he had always been confident or at least doing a good job of bluffing, so stuttering and fumbling were new challenges for him. Ace's grin faded, however, when he began to think about the question seriously.

 _"Was it good that I was born?"_

He blew out a long breath.

 _"Thank you . . . for loving me!"_

"You know, I can't really say."

"Don't give me that!" The young Ace had a frantic look in his eyes. "You know the answer! You have to! You said you're twenty, right? Twenty one? And you can't just-you can't-just . . . you can't mean . . . you don't-don't know."

Ace swallowed, an old pain resurfacing as he stared at his younger self, whose expression was hooded and who was clenching his fists so hard his knuckles were white. "That's not what I mean."

"Then what _do_ you mean?"

The older boy blinked, caught off-guard by the look in the other's eyes. Had he really been this desperate when he was younger? He'd never really thought so . . . but he'd never had an opportunity like this, a chance to talk to someone who could have _known_. He'd mostly just . . . buried his desire to know, channeled it through his life of piracy and kind-of-sort-of believing he'd stumble across the answer eventually.

And he had. It was just . . . taking some time to clear. It wasn't something he could describe in words; it was bonds and smiles and laughter and drunken songs and late nights and early mornings and sunsets and sunrises and a million other things he couldn't think of because there were just so damn _many_.

He had a small grin on his face just thinking about it and the warmth of the memories chased away the dark and cold feeling that had grown in his chest. He could see Little Ace's mouth opening but Ace cut him off. "I do know the answer."

Those simple words shut Little Ace up instantly. The older Ace kept his grin in place and resisted the urge to ruffle his younger self's hair like he did with Luffy. "It's not something I can explain in words. It's more complicated than that, you know? But at the same time, it's really simple."

"Then why can't you say it?"

"Because it's something you need to figure out on your own."

"Why? Why can't you tell me? I need to know!" The boy paused and then closed his eyes. "Please. I want—I need to know."

"I can't tell you."

"Why?! You're here now, aren't you?! You can just-just tell me! Please! Were they right?" Ace knew instinctively that he was talking about those men at the bars he'd hung out in when he was much younger. "Do I really deserve to live? I have the blood of—of _him_! I need to know so just tell me!"

"I said I can't tell you! But—" he cut himself off.

"But what?"

Ace rubbed his forehead, wondering if he should say it. After a quick internal debate, he relented. "You deserve to live. Just trust me on that; you'll learn, eventually, that your—our—worth . . . it's not something you can count. But you realize just how much you have all at once. If that makes sense."

Little Ace blinked, probably realizing that those words were all he would get out of his older self on the subject. Then he snorted and turned away, crossing his arms. "That doesn't make sense at all, Old Timer."

" _Seriously_? I thought you'd stopped with that nickname!"

"Never."

"Brat."

"Asshole."

They settled into a far more relaxed silence, but this time Ace decided that he should be the one to break it. He picked a blade of grass from the ground and stared at it.

Ace then toyed with the blade of grass between his fingers, though he wasn't paying attention to it. His gaze was fixed on the distant horizon, on the shifting waters of the ocean that slowly grew closer until they crashed against the bluff below. He knew what he wanted to say, knew that it was a roundabout and insufficient answer to the question that had practically defined his life, but it was the best he could manage without feeling as though he was screwing himself over in the future.

"There are some things you can't run from," he eventually said. He knew the younger Ace was looking at him, drinking in his every word even though he was trying to pretend he wasn't. Ace looked down, finally, and stared at the grass. _Green._ He burned it without a second thought and let the ashes drift down. "You can't change your blood." Another unfortunate blade of grass found its way into his hands and he kept fidgeting with it, unable to help himself. "You can't change it, and you can't run from it. Things have a way of catching up with you all at once." The new piece of grass burned. "And then everything you thought you'd done to step out of _his_ shadow comes crashing down around you and you think it's all over—" he wasn't monitoring his words anymore, though he didn't really care—"but then reality slaps you in the face and leaves you breathless.

"There are some things you can't run from." Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly and fixing his gaze on the horizon again, aware of his younger counterpart's eyes burning holes in his back. "Because you shouldn't be running in the first place."

After a few seconds, Little Ace made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a cough. "You know, you sound like a dumbass when you try to be deep. Remind me to never ever try to talk like that."

"I'm trying to help, dammit! I'm not good at this shit!"

"What, like _I'm_ supposed to be any better? You're the older one!"

"So? What's that gotta do with anything?"

"You're so lame!"

"Wh— _you're_ lame!"

"Old Timer."

"Brat."

"Loser."

"Dumbass."

Ace rolled his eyes and looked away, looking moments away from throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "The hell! _Lu_ is easier to talk to than you!"

"That's not true! I'm smarter than him!"

Ace's expression became far craftier when he realized he'd hit a sensitive topic. "Really?"

"Yes! It's pretty obvious!"

"You sure?"

He got a fistful of grass to the face for that and spent a minute spitting and trying to get it out of his mouth. Then he playfully tackled his younger self to the ground, only slightly surprised when Little Ace managed to escape the hold before Ace could complete it. They faced each other, both mindful of the cliff's edge a few yards away, and quickly rushed at each other.

Ace was careful to keep his Devil Fruit abilities suppressed so that he wouldn't accidentally burn his younger self, and found that he actually enjoyed the spar. He won after only fifteen seconds, however, and managed to pin Little Ace to the ground. The size difference between the two was borderline ridiculous.

"Ow! Lemme go, dammit!"

"Not until you say I won."

"Fine! I win!"

Ace's eyebrow twitched, though he didn't stop grinning. "Which one of us is pinned to the ground, idiot?"

"I am," Little Ace retorted, shooting Ace a pleased smirk, "but you're me, so you're also pinned! Therefore, I win!"

Ace stared. Then he started laughing and rolled off his younger self, flopping onto the grass. "Fine, fine. But that also means you lose."

"Don't care."

"'Course you don't."

"Hey, Ace . . . I've got a question."

"What?"

"Did you really—hey! Don't fall asleep!"

Unfortunately, Ace was well and truly asleep and Little Ace's shouts were doing little to rouse him. Frowning, the younger boy pocketed his question and began tearing up grass by the handful, putting his nimble fingers to use and quickly braiding the strands together. He began to put the half-finished products in Ace's hair, easily tangling them together. Then he filled Ace's boots with grass too, because he could. And his pockets.

He was halfway through with the last pocket when Ace's snores suddenly stopped. Little Ace glanced up and started when he was met with the cool gaze of his older self.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ace asked conversationally. He really didn't like the way Little Ace was smirking. He knew what it felt like to smirk like that, and he knew the kinds of reasons behind it.

"Nothing," Little Ace replied, stepping away and casually dropping the grass he'd been holding. Ace frowned, sat up, and then blinked in mild confusion at the tassels of green hanging in front of his face.

"Eh? Is this grass?"

"It must've gotten stuck in your hair while you were asleep," Little Ace said easily. Ace pinched one of the strands between his fingers and pulled, his face giving away nothing even as he pulled a few of his own hairs out in the process.

"Then why is it braided together?"

Little Ace shrugged. "Dunno."

"And why is it in my boots and pockets too?"

"Dunno."

Ace shot his younger self a look before standing and momentarily fully igniting. Little Ace's face filled with shock and he took a few rapid steps back as his older self burst into flame before returning to normal a few seconds later. Ace looked satisfied.

"There. No more grass."

"Give me a little warning next time!" Little Ace said heatedly. "You can't just . . . just . . ."

"Spontaneously combust?" Ace offered.

"Yeah! You can't just sp—spo—sponta— _that_ without warning!'

"Too late." Ace grinned. "Plus, I consider it revenge for filling my pockets, boots, and hair with grass."

"Your fault for falling asleep," Little Ace muttered.

"Just you wait. Your narcolepsy will kick in soon, I promise."

Little Ace scoffed. "I'll just ignore it, 'cause I'm not lame like you!"

"How does narcolepsy make me lame at all?"

"It just does."

Ace rolled his eyes and let the matter drop. He sat down where he had been before, quickly shifting to lie on his back once again. The position was certainly comfortable, enough so that Little Ace copied him a minute later.

"Hey, Ace."

"Hm?"

"Why are you here?"

Ace frowned, his eyes closed while he thought. Then he shrugged as much as he could considering his position. "Gravity?"

"That's a stupid answer," Little Ace said immediately. "I mean, why did you come back? What's the point?"

"I . . ." Ace's voice trailed off and his frown deepened. He hadn't really thought about that, actually. Even when he was paying Fuusha Village a visit, he'd focused on what was troubling him, not existential questions (though, given his situation, Ace wasn't sure whether it could really be qualified as an existential question).

Why _was_ he there? Other than that Whitebeard Pirate fiasco all that time ago, Ace hadn't really _done_ much other than hang out with his younger self and Luffy. Even then, he'd tried to limit those interactions as much as his conscience (and his desire to see Luffy again) would let him, though there were some things he couldn't help, like the Haki training sessions and Garp. He shuddered at the thought of the latter and moved on.

He had made the two younger boys stronger than they otherwise would have been, that much was obvious, and he'd interfered in the bandits-scaring-Luffy-into-being-scared-for-Ace incident, which he had handled on his own in the original timeline (with practically the same result, actually). Other than that, things _seemed_ normal. Little Ace and Luffy still lived in their own "countries", but their brotherly bonds were still as strong as ever. In fact, Ace would be inclined to say that the bond was even stronger this time around. After seeing how much Ace cared for Luffy, Little Ace was imitating Ace's feelings almost a decade before he'd been meant to feel them to that degree.

It made Ace feel weird to know that his younger self was _right there_ , next to him. He'd been getting used to it, but every time he saw the younger freckled face, his brain did a strange imitation of trying to turn gears that didn't quite line up. In short, it was a strange experience. But it was one he was happy to have; after all, he got to spend his childhood anew—as an adult, sure, but that was unimportant—which was an opportunity that few, if any, ever really got.

Still, that didn't answer why he was there. Little Ace was looking at him, expecting an answer, and Ace was frustrated to say that he didn't have one. What was his purpose here? Protect himself? Protect Luffy? Change the future? Leave it be and just try to enjoy things as they happened, knowing how wrong everything went the first time through?

No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't condemn Luffy to that again; losing one brother was bad enough. Ace couldn't imagine losing both. The mere thought made him frown automatically.

But . . . he wasn't here for Luffy. The kid had been doing fine—better than fine, if his skyrocketing bounty had been anything to go by—on his own, and only Marineford had sidetracked him. He wasn't here for himself, either. He was . . . in-between. What was he supposed to do?

"You don't know, do you?" Little Ace said abruptly, startling Ace out of his thoughts.

"Guess not."

Little Ace let out a long breath, his face set in an expression midway between a frown and a scowl. "That's stupid. Aren't you supposed to know what to do? You're old."

"Age doesn't mean wisdom," Ace said. "Plus, I've never really put stock in planning ahead and thinking deeply about things. I like to live one day at a time."

"I get that, I think. But . . . I've been wondering why you're here since . . . since I yelled at you about Sabo."

"That was a long time ago," Ace noted absently.

"Yeah. I . . . I don't think you're here for me or Lu."

Waves crashed against the bluff, marking every second that passed after Little Ace finished speaking.

"What do you mean by that?"

Little Ace grimaced. "It's hard to explain. Lu and I can manage fine on our own; you're not really doing anything on this island."

"Harsh," Ace muttered, "but true. I've been thinking that myself."

"So we were talking—"

"Hold on, you were talking with _Luffy_ about this? That irresponsible brother?"

"Like there's another idiot like him. Anyway, he brought up a good point. At least, I think he did. He was eating at the time and I'm not sure if he actually said it or if I just interpreted it."

"Doesn't matter. Go on."

"Well, you're here for _you_. Like, when you came back, you were—I dunno how to put this—broken, I guess? I don't know how to say it . . . there was something _off_. It was better after you came back from Fuusha, and the pirate thing, and Gramps, but there's still something weird about you."

"I'm calling myself weird," Ace said while closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. "This is new."

Little Ace kept going, more confident now that Ace hadn't dismissed his idea. "The whole travel-back-in-time thing is stupid, but you seem happy, and I guess that's the important thing for an old man like you."

"Hey!"

"You're here because you need to be happy. Not because Lu or I need helping. Or something like that."

Ace blinked and then twisted his head to give his younger self a long, considering look. Then he grinned. "Your face is red."

"Shut up! I'm not used to talking about this stuff!"

Ace laughed, feeling a strange weight lift from his chest. He didn't bother to think about it and instead began ripping up grass to shower on his unsuspecting younger self.

Things looked oddly brighter from that day forth.

* * *

 _A/N Hey, character development! Was anyone expecting that reason behind Ace's time-travel?_

 _Reviews:_

 _Guest: That always bugged me. Why carry a weapon if you're not going to use it?_

 _Nala1220: Five chapters left and an epilogue._

 _Illumi Senri: Good to know. I didn't want Ace to seem . . . well, not Ace, so your reassurance is comforting._

 _Okay, here's some shameless self-advertising: I've written several stories for One Piece, all of which involve Ace. You guys should check them out._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	14. Chapter 14

_Because I'm an idiot, I forgot to write chapter 14. It was the dumbest thing; I was looking and noticed that I had chapter 12, then chapter 13, and then chapter 15 . . . wait, what? (Thinking: That's not right . . . crap.) So I wrote this, which is why this chapter was delayed by a few hours. I think it turned out well._

* * *

Chapter 14

"WE'RE GOING TO VISIT MAKINO!" Luffy shouted, startling the few bandits that were awake and moving around.

"DO WHAT YOU WANT, YOU BRATS!" Dadan yelled back from somewhere within the hideout. Unaffected by her (seemingly) uncaring attitude, Luffy turned to face Little Ace and Ace with a bright smile on his face.

"Let's go!"

"Yeah, yeah," Little Ace said. "Wanna race?"

"Oh, you two are going to lose," Ace said. He immediately regretted those words when he felt a Haki-infused fist get buried in his solar plexus. Little Ace grinned triumphantly, apparently proud that he had managed to use Haki, before turning and hightailing it into the trees, Luffy close on his heels.

Ace momentarily fell to one knee while he got his breath back, silently cursing his younger self while respecting his ingenuity. Ace hadn't been expecting the punch at all, and as a result he hadn't been braced for the impact. He'd been caught completely off-guard, and his younger self had gotten a head start as a result.

Once he was sure he could run without stumbling, Ace sprinted into the forest, easily tracking Little Ace and Luffy with Observation Haki. He was catching up, but their head start was nothing to scoff at, especially considering that they weren't slow by any means.

It took Ace almost five minutes to catch up to them, and all three managed to stay within sight of each other until they burst onto the dirt track leading to Fuusha Village. They passed farms and pastures, windmills turning in the breeze while cows gave them unimpressed looks.

Heart pumping, Ace skidded to a stop just past the sign for Fuusha Village, turned to where Little Ace and Luffy were still running, and threw his hands in the air in the universal gesture for victory. "I win!" He declared, his breath coming in short gasps while he recovered from the long-distance sprint. Sweat made his skin shiny and slick, and Ace was doubly grateful for his Devil Fruit, which prevented the sun from really affecting his temperature; it had come in handy in Alabasta, and it came in handy now. He wasn't in any danger of overheating.

Little Ace and Luffy were very close to each other, but Little Ace managed to beat out his younger brother by a few yards in the end. He turned to cheer at Luffy, but ended up getting tackled by said kid, who clearly hadn't remembered to stop in time to avoid crashing. Both Little Ace and Luffy went tumbling to the dirt, Ace laughing in the background.

It took the younger two a minute to sort out the situation—Luffy ended up with a sizeable bump on his head, courtesy of an annoyed yet amused Little Ace—but when they did, the trio headed into town, searching for Partys Bar.

The townspeople, recognizing Luffy, offered the group smiles. Ace greeted them politely, and they recognized him as well from the time he spent in the village many months before. They didn't recognize Little Ace, but that was understandable; he hadn't been to the village before and he'd only interacted with Makino and the mayor, Woop Slap, when they visited the bandits.

They found the bar soon enough and Luffy led the way, a bright smile on his face as he pushed through the swinging doors and all but ran to the bar, hopping onto an empty bar stood and immediately grabbing a fork and knife.

"Makino! Ace and Big Ace are visiting! Food!"

"Sorry about the sudden . . . Luffy," Ace said to Makino, who was behind the bar and watching the youngest boy with a smile.

"It's fine. I figured you three would drop by sometime. Luffy, I'll have your food ready in a minute. You two," she looked at Ace and Little Ace, "feel free to sit and eat as well. I'm sure Luffy's treasure tab will cover it."

"Treasure tab?" Little Ace repeated with a confused frown. "What's that? Lu?"

"I'm gonna pay back Makino with treasure!" Luffy declared. He said the words with such confidence that it was clear he didn't think the words were strange at all. Ace exchanged a slightly bemused look with his younger self before shrugging and letting the matter go. It was Luffy, after all.

A minute later, Makino set a plate in front of each boy. They immediately began eating—after thanking her, of course, as good manners dictated—and in no time flat the food was gone. The cycle of Makino bringing food only to find it gone a moment later continued for several minutes until each boy had a large stack of empty plates sitting next to him. Luffy's was the largest, with Ace a close second and Little Ace only two plates less than that.

"Ah, that was soooooo goooood," Luffy said, letting out a huge breath of air and patting his ridiculously stretched-out stomach. Little Ace echoed the sentiment, while the older Ace complimented Makino on her cooking and tidied up the mess he'd made as best he could.

"No, it's fine," Makino said, smiling at Ace. "I can clean up. You three just enjoy yourselves, okay?"

"Okay!" Luffy agreed, hopping down from his stool and rolling comically across the ground. Realizing that he was about to hit a table, Ace and his younger self sprang into action, successfully stopping Luffy from hitting something.

"Lu, can you digest this stuff already?" Ace asked, grinning with exasperated fondness.

"Yeah, hurry up," Little Ace said. Then he glanced at his older self. "By the way, what else are we gonna do here?"

"I was thinking the beach," Ace said, stepping back while Luffy got to his feet and his stomach began to shrink back to a moderately normal size.

"Works for me," Little Ace agreed. "As long as you and Lu don't drown 'cause you're lame and can't swim."

"I'm not lame."

"Yes, you are. You're just denying it because you're old. Old Timer."

"I'm not that—"

"Let's go to the beach!" Luffy declared, already running out the door. Little Ace chased after him. Ace sighed, caught Makino hiding her laughter behind the palm of her hand, and then followed the younger two out of the bar.

It took Ace a minute to track down the two delinquents, but he knew the general direction in which they were going so he wasn't worried about them getting lost. He was confident that his younger self would stop Luffy from getting lost. Mostly.

"No, Lu, for the last time, you can't dive into the water!"

"But there's—"

"I'm not pulling you out again!"

"Please!"

Ace heard a sigh as he pulled off his boots and began walking across the warm sands, feeling the grains quickly work their way between his toes. That sigh was quickly followed by a splash, and Ace tensed, only to relax when he saw that Little Ace was right next to a submerged Luffy. They were in really shallow water—up to the knee, maybe slightly higher—and Little Ace had a long-suffering look on his face. After about ten seconds, he reached into the water and yanked a gasping Luffy out.

"You done?"

Luffy beamed, exhaustion disappearing. "Yup!" He wriggled free and managed to stagger onto the beach before his strength completely faded, something clutched in his right hand. Ace watched, slightly confused, as Luffy got to his feet and walked over to him, still grinning widely. In the background, Little Ace rolled his eyes, but he was smiling a little.

"Uh, Lu? What's going on? Why were you in the water?"

The kid had sand coating his entire front and most of his arms, but he didn't seem to care. Ace doubted that sand would really irritate rubber skin, anyway.

"Here!" Luffy said, holding his right arm up. Ace raised an eyebrow, wondering what Luffy had pulled out of the water. Then he shrugged mentally, figuring that it couldn't be anything too dangerous, since Luffy was holding it in his hand.

So, Ace cupped his hands underneath Luffy's hand, and watched as something small dropped into them. "Thanks . . .?"

"It's a shell," Luffy declared, still sounding proud. "It reminded me of you!"

Ace blinked and then examined the small shell in his hands. It was an odd mix of red, white, orange, and yellow splotches, arranged like flames across the edges. The inside was a solid red, jarringly bright.

"Wow. Thanks, Lu. This looks pretty cool."

"I know, doesn't it?" Luffy said, bouncing in place. "It matches those mystery flames you can make!"

Ace chuckled, slipping the shell into his pocket. "It definitely does. Nice find."

"I helped him get it, you know!" Little Ace called, still standing in the ocean. Ace laughed.

"I know! Thanks for not letting him drown!"

Little Ace huffed. "Like I would let him do that."

Luffy looked around the beach for a moment, noting that there seemed to be no other people around, and then looked at the two other boys. "We should make sand castles."

Ace took a moment to process Luffy's words and then a few more to respond. "What?"

"Sand castles. Castles of sand. They'll look so cool! Mine's gonna be epic, just you watch!" He took a step and then paused, his face going slightly red while he thought, or possibly as a result of that thinking. "I bet Makino has a spare bucket and shovel!"

Ace let out a good-natured laugh, ruffling Luffy's hair. "No worries. Why don't you and Little Me—"

"Hey!"

"—set up building areas, okay? We'll make it a competition. How's that sound?"

"Awesome!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Ace put the finishing touches on his sand castle, feeling rather proud of himself. He'd put his rather limited construction skills to the test, recalling lessons about shipbuilding (those could probably be applied to castle building, right? Right?) and combining them with his experience with building the tree house and his fort for his "country", as well as odds and ends he had picked up on during his travels.

All in all, it amounted to exactly zero experience with castle building, but Ace wasn't letting that small detail discourage him. After all, his sandcastle looked pretty kickass. Probably. It was kind of listing to one side and the west tower looked in danger of collapsing any second, but everything else looked stable. Ish.

He would have to practice this more. Maybe Thatch would be willing to help.

Ace got a vague sense of homesickness at the thought of Thatch and, subsequently, the Moby Dick. It was an odd feeling; his whole life, he'd never really considered anything "home". It was merely a stepping-stone for different things; the closest place to "home" for Ace had been the tree house, back before Sabo—before Sabo died. Now it just felt empty.

So to have the Moby Dick be his home felt strange but . . . comforting. Ace had a place to call home, somewhere he belonged, and somewhere he knew and was accepted.

It was a novel idea every time he thought about it and he felt warmth flood through him at the comforting memories.

"Mine's better!"

"No way! Yours is trash! Mine is clearly better!"

"Stop being mean! You're just jealous!"

"Jealous my ass! I'm just stating fact!"

"Your facts suck!"

"What'd you say?"

Ace heard the sound of Little Ace's fist making contact with Luffy's skull and glanced up, seeing Luffy sprawled out on the sand, Little Ace standing above him with his fist still raised threateningly. Two sandcastles stood near them; one could, in theory, be considered a castle, while the other one was very lumpy but in the general shape of a castle, with the emphasis on "general".

"Owww," Luffy groaned. The two quickly began to fight, rolling around in the sand and coming dangerously close to their sandcastles. Quickly, Little Ace pinned his younger brother, making Luffy yield a moment later.

"How are we going to judge this competition?" Ace asked, distracting them before they could start again.

"Dunno," Little Ace said.

"Mine's the best!" Luffy declared with a bright smile.

"No, it's not," said Ace and Little Ace at the same time.

Something registered on the edge of Ace's senses and he turned, seeing Makino approaching the beach with a basket in her hands.

"Makino!" Luffy greeted. "What's in the basket? Is it food? Is it meat?"

"Meat is food, dumbass," Little Ace chastised.

"I know," Luffy said, sticking out his tongue, "but not all food is meat."

He ignored the surprised stares from the two older boys and looked at Makino expectantly. The woman laughed and set down the basket, spreading out the blanket she had also been carrying. "Yes, Luffy, it's meat. I made sandwiches since I figured you three would be getting hungry by now."

"Thank you," Ace said, sitting on the blanket and helping Makino pull out the food from the basket.

"You're welcome. Now, I heard you three talking about a competition. What's that about?"

"Oh, we're judging our sandcastles but mine's the best and they won't admit it," Luffy said immediately.

"So you don't know how you're going to judge them?" Makino clarified. Ace exchanged a look with his younger self; apparently, Makino had a built-in Luffy translator. That was impressive.

"Yeah," Ace said. "I was thinking of a vote where we couldn't pick our own, but it would be better to get an outside opinion. Would it be too much trouble to ask you?"

"Not at all. We can do it once we finish eating, all right?"

The picnic lunch went quickly, especially with three black holes present, and when they finished Luffy went off to collect the shovels and buckets Makino had lent them while Ace and Little Ace helped Makino clean up the remains of lunch.

In the next five minutes, the three boys fixed up their sandcastles as best they could, feeling the pressure now that someone else was going to be judging them. Ace managed to stop his castle from leaning dangerously to one side but it still looked half-melted. He decided to think that the whole melting thing was meant to symbolize his powers and go from there.

"Are you three ready?" Makino called. She had been forced to turn around while the three worked, and she'd had a small smile on her face the entire time.

Three affirmatives caused her to turn around, and she immediately went to Ace's sandcastle first. She examined its questionable architecture, noted the strange scorch marks on the shells used for decoration, and finished by gently tapping the tower that was practically collapsed. Ace's face gradually reddened with each passing second, and he looked borderline ashamed of his sandcastle.

When Makino moved on, Ace vowed to get better at building.

Little Ace's sandcastle was worse than Ace's, but far more ambitious. It had more towers, walls, and a moat filled with water that was rapidly draining into the sand. There was even a small drawbridge, but it was merely traced into the walls of the castle using a stick, so Ace didn't think it really counted as an actual drawbridge. Half the towers were just lumps of sand, anyway, and half the rest were falling in on themselves.

Makino spent slightly longer at Little Ace's sandcastle before moving on to Luffy's.

Luffy's was bigger than both Ace's and Little Ace's castles combined, but it was hardly recognizable since most of it had collapsed. Luffy was fiddling with a bucket off to the side when Makino came over, and he looked oddly upset.

"Luffy?" Makino asked gently. "What happened?"

"I was getting water," Luffy said, "and I tripped. It got all over my awesome castle."

In the background, Little Ace let out a snicker while Ace rolled his eyes with familiar yet warm exasperation. Makino consoled Luffy for a moment before standing straight.

"Okay, I think I've got it."

The three boys perked up, each unsure as to what the final outcome was going to be. Makino smiled and clapped her hands together.

"If I was going to judge on detail, Big Ace would win." Ace looked confused, but Makino continued before he could speak. "If I was going to judge on size, Luffy would win. If I was going to judge on a combination of the two, Little Ace would win."

"So . . . who won?" Little Ace asked, looking just as confused as his older self. Except now, understanding was dawning on Ace, and he let out a breath.

"It's a tie, isn't it?" He asked with no small amount of resignation. Makino nodded and Ace sighed again. "This is why I need my division when I do this. I can plan it out fine, but they make it work."

"Don't be like that," Little Ace said, sounding surprisingly caring. Ace glanced at him with surprise, only to see his expression morph into a smirk. "You're just lame."

The younger boy ran away laughing, Luffy on his heels.

"You can chase them," Makino said, smiling. "I can clean up the buckets and shovels on my own.'

"Okay. Thanks, Makino!"

Ace took off, and Makino watched the ensuing chase with an affectionate expression while she began to pick up the various tools scattered in the sand.

* * *

 _A/N Hey, Makino appeared again! Hooray!_

 _Review(s):_

 _Guest: Ace_ is _going to change the future; he came back in time for himself, in a way, so that he could heal and deal with the trauma and existential questions he's been plagued with his whole life. Part of that healing process, to him, includes on "fixing" things._

 _You guys do seem to enjoy the Ace/Luffy/Little Ace interaction, which is part of the reason I wrote this chapter instead of just renumbering the other ones. I felt this story needed more of those three being complete dorks._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	15. Chapter 15

_Yes, it's short. I know. But the updates are every other day; it could be worse._

* * *

Chapter 15

"You're _WHAT_?"

Ace winced, gesturing for Luffy to quiet down. "I'm leaving—"

"You can't," Luffy interrupted, still munching on a leg of meat. "You live here."

"I have to, Lu," Ace said placatingly, having finished his own dinner mere seconds before Luffy's shout. "You know I can't stay here forever; there are things I have to do out there, people that I want to see again. Plus, you've still got Little Me over there—"

"I'm not little!"

"—to take care of you. I know he'll do a good job, so there's no need to worry."

Luffy frowned. "But Ace still has three years."

"For me, it's _been_ three years, maybe more, since I left. I've been getting restless, Lu."

Luffy stuck out his lip and pouted, but he didn't argue anymore. After all, he knew just as well as his brothers what it meant to be restless; he'd been waiting to set off to sea for almost his entire life. "Fine," he eventually conceded, though the word was barely intelligible since Luffy's mouth was close to bursting with food he'd just hijacked from nearby bandits.

Ace laughed at those bandits' outraged expressions and turned to his younger self, who was staring at him. "Well? I know you want to say something."

"Not really," Little Ace denied. "I knew you weren't gonna stay here forever. I just didn't know when you were gonna leave." He frowned into his food. "When _are_ you leaving, anyway?"

"Probably in a year or so. It's going to take me a while to get the ship I want, anyway."

"Whoa, you already have your own pirate ship?" Luffy asked, sparkles in his eyes. "What's it like? Is it cool? Does it fly? Does it shoot lasers? Can it—"

"Jeez, Lu, you ask a lot of questions," Ace interrupted, scratching the back of his neck. "It's a small, one-man ship and it's designed specifically for me. I don't have it now, but I'm sure I can get it, or at least something like it, at Water 7. It's a shipbuilding island in the Grand Line, before you ask. I'll just find a different way of getting there."

"Coooooooool," Luffy said. Little Ace remained unmoved.

"Well, that's a year from now," he said. "So we can do whatever we want in the meantime. Lu, it's just like how I'm setting out in three years. I don't see why you think it's such a big deal."

"I don't," Luffy said. "I'm just disappointed he's not gonna be in my crew."

Ace and Little Ace both bonked Luffy over the head at the same time, yelling, "I'm not going to be in your crew, idiot!" and "He's not going to be in your crew, idiot!" at the same time. Luffy held his head and groaned, though he recovered quickly.

"Ace! You used Haki!"

Little Ace blinked. "Eh?"

"When you punched me, it hurt!"

Both Aces blinked and then said, "Oh".

"That explains a lot, actually," Ace mused. "I'd guess Gramps has been doing the same thing to you, Lu." Luffy grinned, proud for having figured that one out, even if it was at his own expense. "Anyway, I'm definitely setting out in a year. I'll probably explore some islands I didn't have the time to look at before, visit some—"

"YOU'RE LEAVING?"

Ace nearly spit out the toothpick he'd been gnawing on and turned fast enough to give himself whiplash, noticing the horrified stares of the bandits for the first time. "Uh, yeah?"

"No!" One bandit wailed. "The one guy that does his chores when asked!"

"The one guy that knows how to cook!"

"The one guy that cleans the dishes when he's done!"

"The one guy that—"

"Oh, can it, you idiots!" Dadan interrupted. Then she turned to Ace, and her stern expression melted. "You're not seriously leaving, are you? You're leaving these two monst—er, boys _alone_?"

"They can handle it," Ace replied.

"That's not it," Dadan moaned. "It's whether _we_ can handle it."

But the three boys had already turned away and were talking about something completely different. Sighing, the bandits admitted defeat and turned back to their own meals, silently enjoying a quality of food that their cooks would be challenged to match.

Meanwhile, Ace was discussing something of extreme importance with Little Ace and Luffy. "Listen close, you two. When I leave, I want to leave this place with a bang."

"Why?" Asked Luffy.

"Yeah," Little Ace agreed, echoing the confusion of his younger brother, "why do you need to do that?"

"Let's just say I've got a grudge. The thing is, I need some time to get all the supplies I'll need. That's why I—"

 _Thunk_.

Little Ace blinked. "He fell asleep." Almost instantly, he turned to Luffy, one hand outstretched. "Marker."

"Here!"

Never let it be said that Ace had never made an attempt to learn how to draw. The problem came in when Little Ace put _his_ talents to the test—on Ace's face.

The bandits, having learned in an unfortunate incident involving a dead pig and a stupid mistake just how dangerous "Ace D. Spade" could be, casually moved away from the sleeping man. They did not want to be around when he woke up and discovered just what Little Ace and Luffy had been doing.

"Hey, Luffy," Ace asked, pausing in his doodle of a monocle, "what's that you're drawing over his lip?"

"A mustache!" Luffy declared proudly. Instantly, Little Ace punched him, and drew over the mustache-in-progress, hiding it with what could, conceivably, be a laser beam. If the viewer squinted. And was blind. And had Luffy describing the drawing instead of actually seeing it.

He wasn't an artist, okay?

"Don't draw a mustache!" Little Ace snapped. Seeing Luffy's hurt look, he bit his lip and looked away. "Just . . . don't, okay?"

"Okay."

"Ugh . . . huh? Little me? Lu? Why do you have markers?"

"RUN!"

And like the delinquents they were, Little Ace and Luffy ditched their markers and sprinted out of the bandit's hideout, leaving nothing but dust and a confused Ace in their wake. The pirate blinked, sitting up straight. He rubbed his face, stretched, and blinked to clear the sleep from his eyes.

Then he noticed his hand, and the black smudges on it. Flames began to flash across his skin. "They _didn't_."

He was off and running before the bandits even registered that he'd stood up. "Luffy, you idiot, get back here!"

"NEVER!"

* * *

 _A/N Gotta wonder what Ace is gonna do before he leaves. What could "going out with a bang" even mean to him . . .?_

 _Reviews:_

 _Well, actually, there were no questions in the reviews, but I'm_ _happy that you guys thought the last chapter was good. It was kind of a last-second thing (still can't believe I forgot to_ write _an entire damned chapter)._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	16. Chapter 16

_And they separate. (By the way, this is the longest chapter yet; kind of makes up for the shortness of last chapter, yeah?)_

* * *

Chapter 16

The next twelve months passed in a whirlwind of minutes, hours, and days that went by so quickly that Ace wondered whether some days had really happened at all. There had been the graffiti incident in which everyone found out how well rubber held spray paint, the Incident that would never again be discussed (and how was that physically _possible_ for Luffy, anyway?), the Sparks Conspiracy (during which the bandits discovered exactly how "being on fire" does not translate to "flammable"), and hundreds of others.

Makino's visits had been particular highlights in Ace's books; after giving Little Ace lessons on manners, she and Ace would talk, swapping stories and feeling at ease with the other. Makino . . . Ace wasn't sure what she was to him; not quite a family member, but close. She was kind, loving, and happy. Plus, she was always willing to talk to Ace, even though the subjects they sometimes discussed got to be very touchy.

In short, Ace was ten times more grateful for Makino's visits than he had been originally, for entirely different reasons.

Each day had been an adventure and Ace enjoyed every second, finding that elusive sense of peace within himself. It was only for fleeting moments, but occasionally he'd sit outside the ring of the bonfire Little Ace and Luffy had thrown together and just observe, finding some kind of happiness in the happiness of others. It was a feeling similar to the one he felt on the Moby Dick.

As time passed, Ace and his two cohorts managed to pilfer all the supplies they needed for Ace's "escape"—Luffy and Little Ace had taken to calling it that for reasons Ace didn't fully understand—with plenty of time to spare.

At the moment, Ace was saying his goodbyes to the bandits. They were sad to see him go, mostly because he was the best mannered and most responsible young man they'd ever met. Ace knew, however, that if he stayed much longer the resemblance between him and Little Ace would become undeniable. It had already hit "strange" and was going to "creepy" at an alarming pace.

"Thank you for putting up with me for so long," Ace said, offering a polite bow.

"Not a problem!"

"Feel free to come back anytime!"

"No, seriously! Come back!"

"Don't leave, man!"

"Please! Don't leave us with them!"

"Spade!"

Ace stepped out of the bandit's hideout amidst the pleas for help and quickly walked away, knowing that if he stayed too long the bandits would probably try to kidnap him or do something equally ridiculous.

Little Ace and Luffy were waiting for him by the tree house, fully geared up and ready to go. They hadn't bothered with a real goodbye; didn't need to. They knew they would see each other again, and Ace was fine with that.

Luffy was wearing a sweatshirt three sizes too big that easily covered his body and hid his features when the hood was pulled up and tightened around his straw hat. He was also on stilts to give him another foot of height. Little Ace was in similar getup, including the stilts. Both boys—and Ace, as a matter of fact—had spent a straight month on stilts to learn how to move easily in them, and though the first two weeks had sucked, it definitely paid off in the long run.

"You ready?" Ace asked, grabbing a black cloak he'd stashed away earlier in the week and throwing it on, making sure that his hat was hanging from his neck and the cowl, when pulled up, shadowed his face.

"'Course we are," Little Ace replied, grabbing his staff. Luffy grabbed his own pipe, grinning. Both weapons had a temporary trigger system and two nasty surprises on either end, which Ace was confident would cause havoc in the Goa Kingdom to follow up the havoc the pirate was planning on creating.

Ace grinned. "Good. Charge in when I give the signal."

Had anyone in the Goa Kingdom known what was going to happen that day, they would have stayed home. Preferably in their basement. With the doors locked. And the windows barricaded.

But they didn't know, so they didn't prepare. And, really, that was for the best.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Ace walked through the gates leading into Edge Town with all the confidence he had, recalling past experiences that had taught him that as long as he looked like he knew what he was doing, people were half as likely to bother him. His cloak billowed around him, his cowl doing an admirable job of hiding his recognizable features from the occasional guard or prying eyes.

A few people brushed against Ace, probably looking to lift something from his pockets, but there was nothing there. All Ace had was already on the boat, and there was barely enough of it to fit in his backpack. Ace "accidentally" tripped the latest pickpocket and kept walking even as the guy went crashing to the ground. That drew attention, however, and it took Ace a minute to slip into a series of winding back alleys and then out again in a place that was relatively empty.

After glancing around to make sure that no one was looking his way, Ace began following the street towards the gates that led to High Town, though he couldn't go on the main road. Instead, he stuck to side streets, going parallel to the main street.

High Town was situated above the rest of the city, having been built on a base of rocks many yards higher than the rock around it. Therefore, Ace found himself going up a steady incline with a gradually decreasing number of people around him. There weren't that many shops near the entrance to High Town, and the people of Edge Town didn't particularly feel like being subjected to the condescending stares of the nobles.

Ace grinned. He was looking forward to this.

As he approached the great gate closing off High Town from edge Town, Ace realized that the guards were beginning to notice him. He'd had to cut back to the main road once his side street had ended, and as a result the guards could see him easily. Unfortunately, the cloak that Ace was wearing, while great at hiding his identity, made him ten times more suspicious.

"Hey, you!"

A guard marched up to Ace when he was within thirty yards of the gate.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"Walking," Ace replied evenly. "I am allowed to walk, aren't I?"

"Do it somewhere else," The guard ordered, roughly shoving Ace. If he expected Ace to take more than a single step to recover his balance, he was disappointed.

"But I like the view from here," Ace said, adopting a casual—and probably insubordinate—stance. He'd perfected it while on Whitebeard's ship, back before he was a member of the crew. It was designed to offend the other person while also leaving them unsure as to exactly what it was about Ace that was irritating them. "It's nice. Makes me feel above everyone else, if you get what I mean."

The guard scowled and another three walked up, sensing trouble. The first eyed Ace and then turned to the original guard. "What is it, Jeffrey? Is this guy giving you trouble?" He turned to Ace. "Hey, you. Get lost."

"I'd rather not."

"Don't be a smartass. Someone like you doesn't belong anywhere near High Town, so get. Lost."

Ace tilted his head. "'Someone like me'? What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Trash," another guard spat. "Trash like you. Now leave before we're forced to use—er, force."

"Again, I'd rather not. Honestly, though, that gate behind you is kind of ruining my view at the moment. Would you mind opening it?"

"Of course not!" The guards snapped. "What kind of idiots to you take us for?"

"Pretty big ones, if you haven't realized that the man standing in front of you is a pirate," Ace said in his most matter-of-fact voice. The nearest guard—Jeffrey—scoffed.

"Oh, sure, insult us to get what you—wait, _pirate_?!"

Ace grinned, his cloak falling to the ground in a heap. Sunlight hit his bare back and chest, revealing his tattoos and cocky grin to all those watching. He suddenly looked far more dangerous and the guards backed up a step, exchanging nervous glances.

"You heard me," Ace said. His right arm turned to flames, making the guards scramble out of the way. "Pirate." He looked up at the massive gate before him, pulling his flaming limb back as he set his feet. "Now, I feel I have to do everyone a favor and get rid of that gate."

"N-no, don't!" The guards cried, but they were far too late. Ace brought his arm forward, a massive rush of flames bursting forth and shooting towards the gate, creating a roaring inferno that tore up the ground and ate up the air in its path.

"HIKEN!" Ace roared, completing the move. The gates never stood a chance against the torrent of flames, and they were wrenched from their holdings and thrown backwards, smoking and completely, irreparably destroyed.

The guards stared, openmouthed, and looked half a second from bolting. Then the leader recovered and pointed at Ace, bellowing, "GET THE PIRATE!"

Ace laughed wildly as he sprinted into High Town, at least twenty guards hot on his tail.

Unnoticed by the guards that were busy chasing the invading pirate, two boys slipped through the ruined gate, both carrying backpacks laden with supplies. They hesitated when they were through, exchanged a look, and split up.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Little Ace couldn't help smiling as he sprinted through the streets of High Town, horrified nobles receding like the tide before him. The guards had yet to notice him thanks to his older self catching all their attention—and what kind of signal was that, anyway?—so Little Ace had plenty of time to do what he wanted.

Luffy had gone his own way; the tyke could no doubt wreak just as much, if not more, havoc than Little Ace and Ace combined, but Little Ace swore that he would beat Luffy this time. After all, Little Ace was the local king of wreaking havoc. Dadan would attest to that wholeheartedly.

He had already used the two surprises hidden within his staff; one, a gas bomb, had left a huge crowd of nobles hacking and coughing, while the other, a smoke bomb, had left another huge crowd in complete disarray. Now the staff was strapped across his back to keep it out of the way while Little Ace moved onto better pranks.

Without further ado, Little Ace reached into his backpack and pulled out a rudimentary slingshot and a pouch full of paint-filled balloons. He loaded a few different colored balloons into the pouch, pulled the strings taut, and released.

The expressions on the nobles' faces when they were drenched in brightly colored paint made Little Ace's week. He continued to loose more balloons, sometimes hitting nobles, sometimes hitting buildings. They tried to run, but Little Ace was merciless, and his accuracy, while not perfect, was more than enough to get the job done.

When he ran out of paint balloons, Ace tucked the slingshot back into his bag and pulled out two cans of spray paint. He was already shaking them as he ran and the first guard to run across his path—probably drawn by the horrified screaming—got a face full of neon red paint. He went down screaming and Little Ace jumped over him, tagging the buildings he passed as he went.

He ducked into a side alley, quickly losing his newly acquired pursuers, and stuck out his tongue in concentration, quickly creating a rather obscene picture of what the nobles did in their free time.

"Hey!"

Little Ace emptied the rest of the red paint in the unfortunate guard's face and took off at a dead sprint again, snatching a pair of pies from a convenient windowsill. He ate one and smashed the other into a random noble's face, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Get back here!"

"Hell no!" Little Ace called back, pulling out another can of spray paint as well as a tub of superglue. Making a mocking expression and a worse gesture at the guards chasing him, Little Ace darted through the streets at incredible speed, occasionally slopping glue on the ground. More than one person fell victim to the sticky traps and found themselves stuck to the surface. Meanwhile, other people were horrified to find gaudy orange stripes sprayed across their extraordinarily expensive clothing.

His backpack was starting to feel light when Ace ditched the empty bucket of superglue, but he ignored that and pulled out one of his last items: a can of spray glitter. He grinned.

It wasn't a nice grin.

"They'll be cleaning this up for years!" He declared, shaking it and spraying it on everything he could reach, though he was careful not to get any glitter on himself.

It was definitely his favorite day of that week.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Luffy could not stop laughing as he hurtled through the streets of High Town. He'd already amassed a fair following of angry merchants and guards because of his earlier stunt—which involved a watermelon stand, a lettuce stand, and an unfortunately timed smoke bomb—and he half-expected to see them waving around torches and pitchforks with the way they were yelling.

On the bright side, Luffy had gotten a bunch of free food during the commotion, which he was carrying in his arms and happily munching on.

"Pay for it, you brat!"

That wasn't happening. Luffy was broke, anyway. He'd spent the last of his money on—

An earsplitting noise tore through the air as Luffy depressed the top of the air horn, making all the people nearby cry out and cover their ears at the unexpected and deafeningly loud sound. Luffy kept smiling, filling the air with the harsh noise every few seconds to increase the shock factor and startling plenty of nobles; some of them flinched so hard they fell, which was doubly funny in Luffy's books.

After almost a minute of sprinting the guards finally caught up and Luffy was forced to ditch the air horn and pull out his next trick: a confetti cannon. Luckily, he'd already finished his food, so he could hold the two-handed grip easily.

"SURPRISE!" He yelled, turning in mid-air as he jumped out of the guards' reaches, the weapon (could it be called a weapon?) pointed straight at the unfortunate men's faces.

They would've called it cute, had they not already deemed this cloaked figure a spawn of the devil.

With a sharp _bang_ , the cannon went off and sent Luffy flying with the recoil, but not before the guards were all but buried in confetti.

"This is no good," Luffy mused as he flew through the air. "If I keep going, I'll fly right out of High Town."

He thought about that for a minute before shrugging and turning, pointing the giant gun straight up at the sky. "FIRE!" He crowed, pulling the trigger again. Rainbow confetti shot high into the sky while Luffy rocketed back down to earth, slamming into the street with enough force to shatter the brick and break bones. Luffy merely bounced, the confetti cannon forgotten, and pulled out a paintbrush and bucket of glue much like the one his brother had also grabbed.

"Shishishishi!"

In no time flat, the walls of the nearby buildings, the streets, and the people were splattered with enough glue to drown in and Luffy was making his escape, laughing all the while.

Behind him, confetti rained down, sticking to the glue-covered area with ease while people tried in vain to pull it off.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

The wind streamed through Ace's hair while he ran from rooftop to rooftop. He felt strangely nostalgic; it was a scenario very similar to when he had first arrived in this time, when he'd tried to get a razor and ended up being chased out of Edge Town by a contingent of guards.

The guards in High Town were even more persistent than those in Edge Town and Ace glanced over his shoulder, lips quirking into a smile when he saw them struggling to make the jumps between roofs. Because he was looking back, Ace nearly fell into an alley, but he recovered and kept running, his destination easy to see: the royal palace.

He didn't have a backpack with him, nor did he carry anything special. No, his brand of destruction was special; in fact, he was the only man out there that could do what he had planned.

"Stop right there, pirate!"

"Heh. Like I'd do that," Ace said, making one last leap and then boosting the jump with flames. He rocketed through the air, eventually landing on the wall of the royal palace. He scrabbled for a foothold, realized there wasn't one, and promptly melted the blocks to make some. He hung there for a minute, eyes closed, listening to the wind tugging at his body and visualizing what he wanted to do in his mind.

He'd never mastered flying. That was a given; he hadn't had the time, and doing it using propulsion from your own body instead of wings was far more difficult than Ace cared to admit. He could hover, however, and that was all he needed to do here. There was no need for fancy directional changes, and he could always melt a handhold if he needed one to stabilize himself.

"Someone shoot him!"

"No, you idiot! What if a bullet goes through a window?"

Ace smirked. They couldn't touch him up here, and they knew it. He would have to hurry, though; he could already see soldiers running to get ladders, and he'd rather not deal with that nuisance if he could avoid it. He had a schedule to keep, after all.

A distant explosion of smoke caught Ace's attention and he grinned, guessing that it was Luffy.

"Nice one, Lu. Guess I should hold up my end of the deal, eh?"

Holding up one hand, Ace concentrated and made his palm glow with heat. Gradually, intense flames began to lick his skin, until Ace was satisfied. He held his hand over the stone blocks of the royal palace and began the painstaking process of scorching the bricks, all the while maintaining his balance and ignoring the shouts of guards from below.

At one point, something began raining down from the sky and Ace glanced up, noting with some confusion that it was confetti. Then realization dawned on him and he grinned, letting any that touched his skin burn. "Jeez, Lu. Leave some it standing when you're done, will you?"

Still, the confetti was a sign that Ace needed to finish up, so he sped up his work, finishing a minute later. He jumped off the wall right as the first guard got to the top of his ladder, his sword missing Ace by inches.

"It's been fun!" Ace called as he fell. "We should do this again!"

When he hit the ground he merely splashed against the stone as flames, reconstituted, and took off at a dead sprint towards the agreed-upon meeting spot.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

In the end, it took High Town more than six months to clean up the mess the three D brothers had created, and their gate wasn't completely fixed for an entire year.

The nobles demanded vengeance of the highest order, but there was nothing to be done; the perpetrators, save for that despicable Whitebeard Pirate, had been wearing cloaks. The guards were, however, on the lookout for anyone wearing a burgundy cloak, with a strangely shaped head, and of fairly decent height.

Needless to say, they never found the people that did it.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"That was so cool!" Luffy declared, looking back at the distant city. "You burned the wall!"

"Yeah, I did," Ace grunted, adjusting the position of a pile of rope to make room for a barrel of food. "A Jolly Roger." He grinned, looking up at Luffy. "You think they'll be able to fix it before someone important sees it?"

Little Ace scoffed. "I hope not. It's an improvement, anyway."

But Ace could tell that the other two were impressed; after all, Ace was incredibly strong. He just hadn't had the opportunity to really use his abilities on Dawn Island, since he wanted to keep the destruction level to a minimum. He smiled at the thought of their probable reactions to Dai Enkai: Entei.

The two younger boys watched in silence as Ace finished packing away his supplies. It was a beautiful day; the wind brushed through the branches of the nearby trees, sending leaves spinning through the air. The sun shone down, occasional clouds dotting the skyscape. It could not have been better weather for sailing.

"Well, I'm off," Ace said, standing straight. His boat was already beginning to drift away from the shore. "See you guys in a few years, yeah?"

"Yeah!" Luffy agreed while giving a smile so large it took up nearly half his face.

"I'll be out there with you before you know it," Little Ace promised, crossing his arms over his chest and trying to remain stoic. That failed, however, and he grinned too. "Don't forget about us, idiot."

Ace laughed, putting on hand on his orange hat to hold it down as a particularly strong gust of wind pushed past. The tide was receding, pulling his small ship out to sea all the faster. "Like I could forget you two! See you at the top!"

Little Ace and Luffy stayed at the small shoreline long after Ace's boat had disappeared across the horizon. Then they turned to each other.

"We'll get strong," Ace said.

"Uh-huh," Luffy agreed.

"Stronger than him."

"Uh-huh."

"We'll be great pirates!"

"Yeah!"

Moving at the same time, Little Ace and Luffy turned and sprinted into the forest, pipes in their hands, searching for a beast that would give them a challenge.

* * *

 _A/N Man, this was a fun chapter to write. Except the ending; that felt a little awkward, but it worked out._

 _Reviews:_

 _XxFire-PhoenixxX: I'm confused. Do you mean I should do every-other-day updates or do you mean that's a bad idea?_

 _Nala1220: Ace's purpose in being in the past is, essentially, for himself. He will do whatever he feels is necessary to heal, which undoubtedly involves changing the future. This is Ace, after all; he wouldn't let Thatch die if he can avoid it, would he? He's leaving early because he wants the younger Ace to bond with Luffy the same way he did in the past, and he knows it won't be quite the same if he's in the way. Plus, he's a pirate; he gets restless if he stays in one place for too long, no matter where that place may be or what it holds. I hope that makes sense._

 _Phantom Trainer: He won't be going back to the future. That's really all I can say._

 _The Magical Kaitou KID: Something very unfortunate. There were several burn victims._

 _Just so you guys know, we have not seen the last of Luffy and Little Ace. This story is called Brotherly Bonds, after all._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	17. Chapter 17

_I bet a few of you have been waiting for this chapter._

* * *

Chapter 17

Ace was ready to melt the next thing he came across. After navigating through a sudden storm, avoiding random strikes of lightning, and barely getting out of the way of hailstones that Aokiji would have been hard-pressed to match in size, he had the strong urge to just set the sky on fire and was seriously considering trying to do just that—even though he knew it was a Luffy-esque idea that was bound to fail—when he finally saw what he'd been searching for over the course of the past few weeks.

"Finally," Ace muttered, pouring new flames into his ship's engine and taking a deep breath of sea air as his speed picked up.

The craft he was on wasn't Striker; the engine wasn't as efficient and he couldn't constantly pour flames into it because that risked overheating and melting the component parts. It was far better than nothing, however, and the shipwright at Water 7 had done an admirable job, all things considered. It had gotten him to the Grand Line, the New World, even, and that was all Ace had asked for.

The shape on the horizon gradually became clearer, its edges more defined, and a smile pulled at Ace's lips.

As a pirate, he didn't stay in one place, especially since the bounty on his head—which was back to what it had been thanks to the escapades of his younger self—drew bounty hunters like moths to a flame and dealing with them got to be annoying after a few days, so Ace tended to drift from place to place. He hadn't really had a place to call home for the past two years, and since he spent most of his time in the Grand Line, he couldn't easily go back to East Blue and Dawn Island.

But he'd been carefully waiting that whole time, ignoring the ache in his chest every time he saw the bounty posters, dismissing the nagging worries when he heard of attacks on their territories, pushing down the urge to go running to the one place he'd called home outside of Dawn Island.

An all-out smile broke out on Ace's face as the Moby Dick rose up in front of him, the white whale figurehead practically shining in the early morning sun. The strange emptiness in his chest slowly faded with the sight and Ace quickly rode up alongside the craft, pulling out a rope and expertly tying his craft to the side of the ship in the exact way he had done it with Striker. In fact, he could see the yellow boat bobbing on the waves nearby, also fastened to the Moby Dick.

Ace hopped up on the deck, landing in a crouch with one hand holding his hat to keep it from falling off. It shaded his face, allowing him to look around without being blinded by the sun.

"Who the hell are you?"

Ace blinked, straightening and tilting his hat back. "Huh?"

The pirate that had confronted him immediately went pale and stammered an apology. "S-sorry, commander Ace! I didn't recognize you at first!"

"'S not a problem," Ace said absently, too busy drinking in the familiar sight of the deck. The pirate went back to watch duty while Ace took a step forward, only to pause when a very familiar face walked up.

"I thought you would still be sleeping, yoi," Marco commented wryly. "You had a late night last night."

Ace blinked, tempted for a moment to pretend that he was, in fact, _that_ Ace. He glanced in the direction of his cabin and then sighed, hooking his thumbs through his belt.

"Actually, Marco, I didn't have that late a night last night," Ace said. "I was sleeping for most of the day, actually. When I wasn't being thrown around by storms, that is."

Marco frowned. "What are you talking about?" Then he paused, giving Ace a far more thorough examination than he had during his casual greeting. "You look older. Are you . . .?"

"Remember that time a few years ago when you came to Dawn Island to confront that fake Whitebeard Pirate?" Ace asked. Marco's eyes widened slightly in understanding. "Yeah. Hello again."

Marco blinked. Then he grinned slightly. "Well, this isn't what I expected today, yoi."

"I'm just happy I haven't been accused of impersonating your dear second division commander," Ace admitted.

"The resemblance is a bit strange," Marco said. "You just look a few years older."

"Well, I _am_ a few years older."

"Hey, Marco, Ace! Wait—Ace? Why are you up so early? I thought you said you were sleeping in . . . if you could?"

Ace shot Marco a grin before turning to Thatch with a sheepish smile. "Yeah, you know, I was going to but things kind of got complicated."

"Oh, really?" Thatch walked up to Ace, scratching his chin and casually looking Ace up and down. "By the way, why do you look six years older than you should?"

Marco snickered while Ace stiffened, evidently surprised Thatch had immediately noticed that detail. "Uh . . . it's a long story. And it's eight years, not six."

"Close enough," Thatch said, waving a hand. "I don't care that much, really. If Marco thinks it's fine, then I don't see why I should worry too much." He frowned. "Did your appetite increase with your age? Because then I have to change how much breakfast I'm making."

"It did," Ace affirmed. "Really, just pretend like there's two of me."

"Wonderful," Thatch muttered. Then he shrugged. "Anyway, have you guys figured out what we're going to do about those marines that've been tailing us since . . . last month, was it? Yeah. Last month. They're starting to get annoying and the guys on watch are getting lax."

Ace frowned. That explained why no one had hailed him when he'd been approaching the ship; the guys on watch had probably been paying attention to the navy ships and not to the small craft sneaking in close.

"We'll take care of them tomorrow," Marco said. "We've just been gathering information on how many there are. I think a few members of the twelfth division are on one of the ships to get more details."

Ace wondered whether he was going to stick around long enough to see those fireworks, and then pushed the thought aside when he saw a familiar figure stumbling onto the deck, blinking against the light and looking moments away from dropping into unconsciousness. He snuck a look at Thatch. Oh, he could use this.

"Hey, cousin!" Ace declared, swiftly brushing past a bewildered Thatch and an Amused Marco. Little Ace—not so little anymore, Ace mused—could only look up in shock when Ace slung an arm around his shoulders. "Long time no see!"

"Hold on," Thatch muttered, nudging Marco. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing? Cousins? No way; those two are twins. Why are there two Aces?"

"I've learned to just go with it, yoi," Marco said calmly.

"Ace?" Little Ace muttered. "Why are you—ACE!"

"Spade, actually," Ace said cheerily, steering his younger self towards Thatch. "Ace D. Spade. Don't tell me you've already forgotten; it's only been around six years, you know."

"No, that's not what I mean," Little Ace said, shrugging off his older self's arm. The two men stared at each other for a minute before Ace grinned crookedly.

"I've gotta say, you look pretty good. You really grew up."

"I could say the same," Little Ace replied.

In the background, Thatch groaned.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Thatch said as he leaned against the ship's railing, Marco next to him and the two Aces standing in front of him. "You—" he pointed at the older Ace—"went back in time after an unnamed event and landed on your—" he pointed at the younger Ace—"island roughly eight years ago, and you both had a happy time for several years before you—" he pointed again at the older Ace—"decided to leave to explore the seas like the pirate you are."

"Sounds about right," said both Aces. Thatch raised an eyebrow.

"And neither of you really care that much that there's a practically identical copy of yourself waltzing around?"

Ace laughed. "Thatch, calm down. He's me and I'm him; we think along the same lines. Anything I do, he should expect."

"That's not exactly comforting, you know," Little Ace pointed out. "After all, there was that one time in Loguetown—"

"Let's not talk about that," Ace interrupted. "It was only once, anyway."

"They thought I was the guy that'd—"

"Again, it only happened once," Ace interrupted. Then he shrugged. "And I apologized, anyway."

"I'm not entirely sure what you're talking about," Marco put in, "but I'm pretty sure you're missing the point."

"Never mind that," Thatch said, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Marco, think of the pranks! Oh, Izo won't know what hit him!"

"What did Izo do?" Ace asked curiously. Thatch sighed, absently rubbing his goatee.

"Well, I _may_ have messed with his makeup cabinet a week back and he's been gunning for me ever since, so . . . yeah."

"It's your own fault," Marco commented. "And Ace—both of you—don't encourage him. He's bad enough anyway."

"I make no promises," Ace said while his younger counterpart turned to face Thatch.

"What do you have in mind?"

"We're going to be pranking a lot of people, actually," Thatch said, clearly thinking aloud. "We should start with introducing this paradox to Oyaji; I'm sure he'll find it interesting."

The Aces exchanged a look and then they both shrugged. "Sure."

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Whitebeard was having a good day. The nurses had been bugging him less than normal, one of his sons had found a particularly good brand of sake from the West Blue, and the weather was perfect for sitting in his chair on the deck. Best of all, his sons and daughters seemed to be having a perfectly good time, despite the obnoxious marines occasionally drifting over the horizon line.

Even Ace, who had been strangely withdrawn recently, had brightened and was moving with as much energy as he had when he was trying to murder Whitebeard.

Speaking of the boy, he was walking by Whitebeard. Ace glanced at Whitebeard and smiled, offering a small wave. "Good morning, Oyaji."

"Good morning," Whitebeard rumbled. Ace took his leave, going to talk with Thatch and Marco. Whitebeard watched them for a moment before turning his gaze back to the horizon. He couldn't see the marine ships from the deck, but he knew they were there; their presences were beginning to get irritating, but Marco had already come up with a plan to get rid of them.

"Good morning, Oyaji!"

"Good morning," Whitebeard replied, bringing his gaze back down to find . . . Ace? The boy was grinning cheekily, looking strangely happy.

Whitebeard felt confusion growing inside of him. Hadn't he just said good morning to Ace? His eyes sought the familiar figure and, sure enough, there was Ace, still chatting with Thatch and Marco. But he was also standing in front of Whitebeard, still grinning.

Whitebeard settled on staring at the man in front of him without letting any of his confusion show. "You have some explaining to do."

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Oh, man, Izo's gonna kill me tomorrow," Little Ace muttered. He was perched on one of the booms that stretched from the main mast of the Moby Dick, with his older self nearby and Thatch giggling from the crow's nest. No doubt the man was already thinking of more ways to prank the crew using the older Ace.

"Yes, he is," Ace agreed. "Which is why I'm going to be gone by tomorrow."

"What? You're leaving?"

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Are you really surprised? I've still got a lot of sailing to do, and I want to meet up with Luffy before he makes it to the Grand Line. I'm sure he's gotten himself into all kinds of trouble by now."

Little Ace knitted his brows in confusion. "His birthday was only a week ago."

"Yeah, but think of what we managed to do right after setting sail."

"You've got a point." He was quiet for a moment. "Well, I'm looking forward to seeing what he gets into."

Ace huffed out a laugh, recalling Alabasta and then Marineford. "Knowing Lu, it'll be pretty spectacular."

"Yeah."

They descended into a companionable silence, choosing to listen to the sounds of the Moby Dick and her crew instead of speaking. In the distance, the sun continued to rise, making the waves of the New World sparkle and seem like liquid gold. After a few minutes, Little Ace let out a contented sigh and glanced at his older self.

"So, what've you been doing for the past few years?"

"Nothing big."

"I can tell, since I didn't have a bounty poster until after I'd made the Spade Pirates. Anyway, you know what I'm asking."

"Yeah, yeah. But I'm serious, I haven't been doing anything big because I knew it'd screw with your plans."

"Wow, thank you so much."

"There's no need to be rude."

"I'm being rude to myself, so it doesn't count."

"Tch. Fine." Ace blew out a breath, absently swinging his legs while he thought back over the time he'd spent exploring the seas. "Honestly, I've just been exploring. Did you know there's an island that's made entirely out of fire? Apparently, no one's ever explored it."

"Except you."

"Except me. It was pretty weird; there was a temple in the middle and it had some weird stuff inside."

"Did you take any of it?"

"Nah. Didn't seem right. But I did leave a little message for the next person that comes in."

"Really? What did it say?"

"'You're not the first', or something like that."

Little Ace snickered. "Nice."

"There was another island where the fruit had mutated and attacked me. All the villages were in ruins."

"Not so nice."

"It worked out. The fruit tasted good, anyway. There are so many islands out there . . . I could go on for hours."

"Please do," Little Ace said, adjusting himself so that he could lie on his back, taking care not to shift too far to either side so he wouldn't fall off. "I've got time to kill, anyway, and Thatch is listening just as much as I am."

Ace raised an eyebrow and glanced up at the fourth division commander, who was whistling and looking at the distant horizon. A wry smile twisted the young pirate's lips and he nodded. "Sure, why not? I'll start with the first cool island, where I met this weird talking bird . . ."

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

" . . . And after the hailstone created a huge wave, I rode it and drifted for a while until I saw this ship in the distance."

"Huh," Little Ace said, having managed to stay conscious for the entirety of the story. "Sounds like fun. You didn't encounter any marines on the way here?"

"No, why? Haven't they learned their lesson since you guys sabotaged their ships?"

"Nope," Thatch said, swinging down from the crow's nest and landing lightly. "They think they're being stealthy, but anyone with a lick of Observation Haki could sense them."

Ace frowned, sitting up straight. "Why are they spying on Oyaji?"

"We don't know. The intelligence division sent out some plants to figure that out, but we don't know when they'll be back. We're expecting them by tomorrow, and that's when we'll teach those Marines what it means to spy on the Whitebeard Pirates, but until then . . ." He shrugged.

"I think I'll stick around, then," Ace said slowly. Originally, he thought he'd be fine with letting his brothers and sisters handle the marines, but now it was too big to pass up. "At least until this is cleared up. Would that be all right?"

Thatch smiled, clapping Ace on the back and nearly sending the younger man hurtling to the deck. "Of course! We're happy to have you on board!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Marine Ensign Fuun sighed from his position within the crow's nest of his warship. Well, not _his_ warship. He wasn't the captain, though he wished he was. Being a captain would have been pretty cool, though he was content with his rank as Ensign. He got to wear the coat, after all. It proudly proclaimed "justice" and waved dramatically in the wind.

With another sigh, Fuun turned his attention to the Eastern horizon, knowing that he was supposed to be giving a report on the movements of the Whitebeard Pirates. He'd been doing a god job of that for the past few days, and had even reported the sight of a small vessel joining the Moby Dick. He hadn't been given any details on what the higher-ups thought about that, and he didn't think it was his place to wonder.

Frowning, Fuun realized that the Moby Dick was getting closer. Immediately, he raised the alarm, but it was far too late.

He watched with rapidly growing horror as two fiery streaks shot from the legendary pirate ship, heading straight for the warship.

"No way," he said, the blood draining from his face. "How did they know?"

He didn't stand a chance against the legendary pirates; he knew that. That was why everyone assigned to this mission had been given strict orders to be as stealthy as possible. There were even marines garrisoned on ships that were designed _not_ to look like warships.

Had their cover been blown?

Fuun narrowed his eyes at the burning figures streaking towards the ship and felt his heart skip a beat. The nearest one he recognized easily; he was an infamous pirate that had risen so quickly in the ranks of dangerous individuals that even marines that had never had the displeasure of being on the same sea as him knew his face.

Fire Fist Ace.

"Oh, crap," Fuun whispered. Still, he pulled out his rifle, knowing that it was at least worth it to put up a fight.

But he felt confused. The first man was clearly Fire Fist Ace and Fuun could see his sadistic grin from there, but who was the second? It was impossible for two people to have the same Devil Fruit, but the other man was burning just as brilliantly as Fire Fist. What was going on?

Fuun had no more time to think when the two men crashed onto the warship's deck, rocking the entire craft and sending marines overboard with a rush of flames. Fuun couldn't be sure, but he could've sworn he heard them laughing.

"C'mon, Ace!" One taunted—he was clearly Fire Fist, so why was he calling the other Ace? "Is that the best you can do? I definitely flew faster!"

"Oh, you wish, Fire Fist!" The other man replied in kind, grinning widely. Fuun felt his blood turn to ice, his knees shaking.

There were two of Fire Fist Ace.

The world was ending.

He blacked out.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Man, those marines never stood a chance," Ace said casually, dropping the unfortunate marine that had fallen from what Ace assumed was the crow's nest, unconscious before he even hit the deck. Ace had caught him out of reflex more than anything, recalling times when Luffy had tumbled out of trees.

"I almost feel bad for them," Little Ace said, nudging a burned captain with his foot. Then he rolled his eyes. "Not. They should've stayed away from Oyaji."

"It's their own fault."

"Sure. Race you back to the Moby Dick after we torch this ship?"

"You're on."

The warship never stood a chance.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

A few days later, Ace was beginning to think about leaving. He'd already stayed for far longer than he'd originally anticipated, and the longer he stayed, the more he risked running into Teach. He didn't trust himself to remain in control if he saw the traitor again, and it was sheer luck that the man was away on a mission that week.

At the moment, however, Ace was talking with his younger self and Thatch, discussing random things and really just passing the time.

"So I was thinking," Little Ace said, though he clearly wasn't so little anymore and got incredibly irritated when Ace called him that (though he couldn't hide the glimmer of appreciation whenever he snapped at his older self no matter how hard he tried), "that we should have a contest."

Thatch eyed him warily, now accustomed to the younger man's unpredictable sense of humor that was often borderline sadistic. And ingenious. He was going to be terrifying in the years to come, actually. Ace glanced at him with the same expression as Thatch, a growing horror blooming in his chest at the dark light twinkling in his younger counterpart's eyes.

He didn't like that look.

Not at all.

"What kind of contest, yoi?" Marco asked, walking up next to the trio. "If it's another food fight, I'm going to have to kick all three of you off the ship."

"The food was spoiled! _Someone_ forgot about it in the cargo hold—I blame Jacob, that good-for-nothing lazy South Blue piece of—never mind." Thatch said. "Anyway, I personally cleared it for that use!"

Marco eyed him. "I know. That's why I'm including you in the 'kicked-off-the-ship' group if it ever happens again."

"You just don't know how to appreciate a good time."

"I'm the First Division Commander, Thatch. I manage our expenses, and that food fight cost us quite a bit in ruined tables and clothes."

"Not my fault Jozu accidentally hit Izo in the face with an entire plate mashed potatoes smothered in gravy."

"Thatch!"

"Sorry, sorry. Won't happen again."

Ace chose not to point out that Thatch's fingers were crossed behind his back. The man could be such a child sometimes. "Hey, you were saying something?"

Little Ace glanced up and grinned. "How does a dancing competition sound to you?"

Even Thatch looked taken aback, while Ace's eyes widened in horror. "You _wouldn't_."

Little Ace's smile was positively fiendish. "Oh, hell yes I would. Any one of you ever tried on a tutu? You know, those pink, frilly skirts? I think it would suit you especially, Thatch."

Ace's horrified screams could be heard across the Moby Dick.

* * *

 _A/N They seem in character. I think. The end bit is referring to something from the first few chapters._

 _Reviews:_

 _Nala1220: You're too kind. I think you're going to be slightly disappointed, however, though that may just be me._

 _smfan: I had to bend the rules initially (this is an AU, after all), but I've worked it out like this in my head: the universe naturally tries to set things on one track, and Ace coming back knocked the train off-course. The universe corrected this anomaly by bending the rules, allowing for Ace to have the Mera Mera no Mi. Until Little Ace stumbles across the fruit on his travels, it doesn't really exist; Ace has the entirety of that "devil" inside him. However, once Little Ace finds the devil fruit (which the universe planted in an attempt to set things straight), the "devil" inside Ace split, essentially dividing his powers between the two Aces. The two are basically splitting the ability, with one drawing more of the "devil" into himself as necessary, though Little Ace gets priority, such as in his fight with Jinbe (during that fight, the older Ace had next to no power with his Devil Fruit). If that makes sense._

 _Next chapter is the Straw Hats. Anyone looking forward to that?_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	18. Chapter 18

_This was a fun chapter to write (not as much as the Goa-Kingdom-Prank one, but close)._

 _Also, 100 reviews! *throws confetti*_

* * *

Chapter 18

Consciousness poked at Ace like a child poking a snake with a stick, and Ace was sorely tempted to completely ignore it. Sleeping was nice, after all; he couldn't remember _how_ he fell asleep, or _when_ , which were two signs he'd had a narcoleptic attack while sailing, but he clearly wasn't dead or in the hands of the marines because he didn't feel the peculiar draining effects of Kairoseki or the burning pits of Hell. Therefore, he could stand to keep sleeping.

"Is he awake yet?"

"Guys, this is bad! Someone should get the captain!"

"Calm down, Usopp. He's only one guy, and he was sleeping. I bet he and our shitty swordsman would get along swimmingly."

"What did you say, you curly-browed cook?"

"You heard me, moss-head! You deaf?"

"No, but _you_ will be when I slice off your ears!"

"Quit it, you two."

"Of course, Nami-swan!"

"Tch. I'm going to sleep."

"N-n-n-no, Zoro! You can't do that! What if he's dangerous?"

The voices weren't letting up and at that point Ace had given up on returning to the blissful realm of unconsciousness. Briefly, the pirate reflected on how he'd ended up wherever he was.

He'd had a relatively easy time in East Blue once he left the Grand Line, and the entire trip had been far easier than the one that took him _into_ the Grand Line to meet with his younger self. The universe had practically arranged things perfectly, so that even when he stopped in Loguetown for supplies, he didn't run into the infamous Smoker, who was known for ruthlessly hunting down pirates. Ace had a reputation; he doubted that Smoker would let him go easily.

But it had still been a while since he saw his younger self, mostly because Ace had taken his time on the trip back, exploring several other islands and having a few interesting encounters with the marines, but Ace wasn't worried. If anything, that gave Luffy even more time to screw with the pirates in the East Blue, whom Ace had practically skipped over on his way to the Grand Line.

His younger self hadn't minded seeing him go, and though the reunion hadn't lasted long, it had still been incredibly fun.

After roaming the East blue for a day, Ace had fallen asleep while drifting and apparently been found by whoever these people were.

Ace suddenly realized that the name Zoro rang a few metaphorical bells. Hadn't he been someone on Luffy's crew? The same went for Nami, and Usopp. Ace wasn't sure who the last guy was, but that strange, fawning-yet-reverent tone was very similar to the one that cook named Sanji had used every time a woman got near him.

Was he on Luffy's ship? That would certainly make things easier, since he had no idea where the loveable idiot had been around this time. Ace had been planning on just scouring the seas and magically finding his younger brother, but this certainly made that idea moot.

He figured he should probably open his eyes before that scared-sounding guy (Usopp, right?) got it into his head to try to restrain Ace. Clearly, these pirates hadn't dealt with a lost man at sea before. So, he opened his eyes, abruptly sat up, and stretched his sore muscles. When he brought the world into focus, he saw an orange-haired woman staring at him, alongside a cook with swirly eyebrows and a man with an impressively long nose. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Ace did an odd little bow from his sitting position.

"Hello."

"Ah . . . hello," the orange-haired woman replied. Ace knew her name—Nami. He recognized her from their brief meeting in Alabasta, just as he recognized Usopp and Sanji. They really didn't change much in the time it took them to get to Alabasta, the Whitebeard pirate mused. "Who are you?"

Well, maybe Nami was slightly more blunt than Ace remembered, but that was fine. A lot of things probably happened between now and Alabasta. Plus, he'd clearly been on their side when they met in Alabasta.

"I'm looking for someone," Ace said instead of outright answering, because he figured that just up and saying he was Luffy's brother would only get him suspicion. He rummaged around in his pockets and eventually pulled out Luffy's bounty poster, which he had only gotten his hands on the day before. "Have you seen this guy?"

Instantly, Ace found a very dangerous-looking group standing before him. completely different in attitude than the somewhat-wary collection of individuals it had been before. He saw Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, but no one else. Was the crew this small when they entered the Grand Line? If so, that was impressive. Dumb and reckless, but impressive.

Not that Ace was one to talk; his crew had only been slightly bigger.

"What do you want with our shitty captain?" Sanji asked, taking a drag of his cigarette.

"Oh, so this is Luffy's ship?" Ace asked, grinning with relief. "That's good. I wasn't sure, but that makes everything easier." He got to his feet, either ignoring or unaware of the hostility in the others' gazes. "So, where's Luffy? Is he sleeping or eating?"

"That depends," Sanji said.

"What do y-y-you—HE'S A PIRATE!"

Ace glanced at Usopp, who had apparently noticed the giant tattoo on his back. Zoro had as well, if the slight narrowing of his eyes and the way he was reaching for his swords were anything to go by.

Ace's smile became even more genuine. "Yeah. That tattoo's my pride and joy, you know. Sorry; I haven't introduced myself properly. The name's—"

And suddenly, Ace was on the deck, snoring away. The Straw Hat Pirates exchanged confused glances, and Zoro poked at Ace, only for Usopp to drag him away.

"Careful, Zoro! You don't want t-to make him m-m-mad!"

"He's asleep," Zoro said, his tone making it seem like he thought Usopp was an idiot for not noticing that.

"I can tell! B-but he could wake up at any moment!"

"And he was just about to give his name, too," Nami murmured, crouching next to the unconscious Ace. She noticed the tattoo on his arm and raised an eyebrow. "A-s-c-e? Why's the 's' crossed out?"

"Maybe he screwed up," Sanji said.

"I wonder how it's pronounced . . . maybe . . . Asce? No, Ace."

"That sounds right," Usopp ventured, but he was still using a completely unimpressed Zoro as a human shield.

Abruptly, Ace shot back up, wide-awake and already speaking. "—Portgas D. Ace. Nice to meet you."

"YOU CAN'T JUST KEEP SPEAKING LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED!"

Ace blinked. "Eh? Did I fall asleep?"

"In the middle of introducing yourself!" Nami snapped.

"Oh, Nami, you're beautiful when you're angry!" Sanji declared, swooning. Ace glanced at him and then returned his attention to Nami, who seemed to be the sanest one of the lot.

"My bad. Anyway, I'm Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. Luffy's my brother."

The deck of the ship was completely quiet for all of a second before shocked voices filled the air, all saying the same thing:

"WHAT?!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"And that's how it is," Ace finished. "Basically, we grew up on the same island and declared ourselves brothers. Do you believe me now?"

"That does sound like Luffy," Usopp said, peering at Ace. "But how come he's never mentioned you?"

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Did you ever ask?"

"No."

"Then that's why. We don't really focus on the past unless we have good reason; it ruins living in the moment, you know?"

"That makes sense," Sanji said. Then he turned to look at Zoro, who had fallen asleep at some point during Ace's story. "It would make even more sense if the damned marimo would stop snoring so loudly and making it hard to hear!"

Zoro cracked one eye open, let out a derogatory huff of breath, and went back to sleep, which only incensed Sanji even more. Luckily, Nami distracted him before any fireworks could begin.

Ace watched their interactions with a small smile, and then glanced over at Usopp, who looked like he wanted to ask something. "What?"

"Uh-er-I-are you really Luffy's brother?"

Ace frowned. "Is it really so hard to believe?"

"Yeah! You're so . . . so . . ."

"Polite?" Nami offered.

"Well-spoken?" Sanji put in.

"Intelligent!" Usopp finished.

"Yeah, we're plenty different," Ace agreed easily.

"You're not even going to defend Luffy?" Nami asked. Ace shrugged.

"There's nothing to defend. We're practically opposites."

"Practically?"

"Well, we both—"

"I should probably make breakfast," Sanji mused, his quiet words somehow reaching Ace's ears. Instantly, Ace stopped speaking and looked at Sanji.

"Would it be too much trouble if I joined you?"

Nami and Usopp exchanged a look, evidently still surprised at Ace's use of common manners. After Luffy, it was almost jarring.

"No, not at all," Sanji replied. "The captain should wake up when he smells the food, anyway."

"I'm not surprised," Ace said, following the rest of the crew into the galley. "His nose can be scarily good at times."

"You're telling me," Nami, Sanji, and Usopp said.

"Oh, by the way," Usopp said, noticeably more relaxed around Ace now that he knew the Whitebeard Pirate meant no harm, "if you want the good food, you'll have to eat quickly, before Luffy gets up."

"I'll be fine," Ace said. "I know how Luffy eats. I can handle him."

The Straw Hats exchanged disbelieving glances but decided to let the matter go. They settled around the table and Ace easily fielded the questions being directed his way while Sanji went to work on breakfast. Soon, delicious aromas filled the kitchen and Ace felt his stomach rumbling, a reminder that he'd run out of supplies the day before. It could have been part of the reason he'd had a narcoleptic attack earlier, but it was hard to tell for sure.

They quickly began the meal, and Ace began to admire—not for the first time—just how close-knit his brother's crew was. They were just as close as the Whitebeard Pirates, if not more so because of their smaller crew size.

"Sanji, your cooking is incredible," Ace commented, polishing off the last of the meat he'd grabbed and quickly stealing another three pieces before Usopp or Zoro could take them.

The cook grinned, happy that there was someone else that appreciated his cooking. "Thank you, it's—"

"MEAT!"

Sanji sighed. "And here he comes. Everyone, brace yourselves."

"Hey, Ace, you might want to get away from the table," Usopp cautioned. Ace laughed.

"It's fine."

"SANJI! FOOD!"

With a sound like a thunderclap condensed into a single instant, the door slammed open and Luffy hurtled through, his eyes already fixated on the food stacked on the table and seeing nothing else.

"Lu—" Ace started, only to hastily duck to avoid a rubbery arm that snatched the meat from his plate. "—ffy?"

"Thishishreallygood!" Luffy declared, his eyes closed with pleasure as he filled his mouth with food. The other Straw Hats watched with varying degrees of horror that Ace knew would be nonexistent by the time they reached Alabasta. Exposure therapy, he guessed, or something of the sort. He'd never gotten much into how people's minds worked.

"Luffy," Ace tried again, expertly avoiding flying bones and various other pieces of . . . _things_ that Ace didn't care to identify. He knew what they were in the back of his mind, having eaten the exact same way as Luffy for many years, he just chose not to think about it when he was _trying to talk to his little brother who didn't notice him sitting four feet away._ "Hello?"

"Good luck with that," Zoro said, tilting his head just enough with the ease of long practice to avoid a hunk of fat, with splattered against the wall behind him and then slid down with a disgusting noise. "Once he starts, he doesn't stop until he's finished."

Ace sighed. Apparently his meal was going to be a battle, too, even though he'd had the slight hope that Luffy would recognize him before his stomach found the food. Er, his eyes. Whichever held precedence.

Seeing Luffy's hand reaching for the meat he'd just gotten, Ace took a deep breath, began spinning out several counter strategies in the back of his mind, and entered a food battle with Luffy that had been postponed for many years.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Ahhhh, Sanji, that was so goooood," Luffy said, practically singing the words while he patted his stretched-out stomach. Finally, Luffy seemed to notice that he was not, in fact, alone at the table. His expression lit up, a huge smile stretching across his face while he spoke with a slight amount of disbelief. "Ace!"

"Hey, Luffy," Ace replied, grinning around the toothpick he'd found earlier. "It's been a while."

Luffy pursed his lips—an odd expression that made him look more than a little ridiculous—and leaned in closer to Ace, looking him up and down. "Hm. Which Ace are you? You look the same."

Ace chose not to point out that he looked considerably older than his younger self (with good reason).

"So you've seen my bounty poster?"

"Uh-huh! Your bounty's so high!"

"I'm sure you'll reach it soon enough," Ace said, ruffling Luffy's hair. "I'm the older Ace."

"It's been so long!"

They clasped hands on the table, elbows down. They still had easygoing expressions on their faces, but anyone could notice the way the muscles in their arms were standing out.

"This is just like the time . . . when Naguri had us . . . build that ship!" Luffy said, pausing every few words to push harder against Ace's arm, only for Ace to push back.

"Not . . . even close, Lu!" Ace replied, pushing even harder against Luffy and forcing the younger boy's hand back, nearly to the edge of the table.

"If you keep that up, you're going to break the table," Sanji said, sounding calm. He was, however, gripping his cigarette a little harder than normal. Ace glanced up at him, frowned, and then glanced at Luffy.

"Wouldn't want that," he admitted, and by mutual agreement he and Luffy stood up and shared a genuine special handshake. "You really haven't changed at all, Luffy."

"Neither have you, Ace!" Luffy returned with a wide smile.

Ace returned the smile with a smirk and then, just for the sake of trying, said, "So, Luffy, do you want to join Whitebeard's crew? Your friends, too."

Luffy's reply was instantaneous. "No."

Ace laughed. "I should've known."

"If you want, you can talk on the deck," Nami said slowly, looking between the two brothers. "It's nice weather, and it looks like it's going to stay that way."

"I can bring drinks!" Sanji volunteered. "Especially for you, Nami-swan!"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Let me think this through, because it's—well, more than I was expecting. You set out in a tiny boat with only a barrel of apples, got caught in a whirlpool, survived only by getting into that barrel, somehow ended up beating up some ugly pirate lady you don't remember the name of, made friends with a weakling that wants to be a marine, defeated a marine captain, picked a notorious pirate hunter to be on your crew, and made friends with the marines in Shells Town."

"Yup," Luffy said. Ace sighed, took a drink, and continued.

"Then, you get carried off by some giant bird, somehow end up beating a weird clown guy that had a big nose, got Nami on your crew, got Usopp on your crew—after beating a guy that didn't understand what it meant to be a pirate—and then got Sanji on your crew."

"Sounds about right," Usopp said, grinning as the gradually rising disbelief in Ace's expression. "He's skipped a few parts, but that's the main story."

"Right," Ace muttered. "And then Nami was being 'strange', you chased her down, beat a greedy sea cow that wanted your food, and beat Arlong because he hurt your friends."

"Yup," Luffy repeated. Ace rubbed his forehead.

"Iron Mace Alvida, Axe-Hand Morgan, Buggy the Clown, Kuro of a Thousand Plans, Don Krieg, and Saw-Tooth Arlong." Ace let out a long sigh. "Why am I not surprised?" Then he looked up and grinned, giving Luffy a fist bump. "Impressive, Lu! You've gotten a lot stronger since I last saw you!"

"Of course!" Luffy said proudly. "I'm the captain of a pirate crew, and I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

Ace laughed again. "Good luck with that, Luffy, but you're going to have to face a lot of enemies to reach One Piece." His expression became more serious. "That includes Whitebeard, you know. I'm going to make him Pirate King."

Luffy looked unconcerned. "That's just one more opponent I'll have to beat."

Nearby, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Nami all exchanged a look. Only Zoro and Sanji looked unsurprised, while Nami and Usopp seemed to be the only two to fully grasp the enormity of the task ahead. Then they shrugged, figuring that Luffy would find a way. He was Luffy, after all.

"So, Ace, how long are you planning on staying?" Sanji asked. Ace thought for a moment.

"Not long. I don't want to impose, and I've got a lot of things I need to do yet. But I can stay for the rest of the day, if that's not too much trouble."

"Not at all," Sanji said. "It's nice to have someone responsible."

Luffy remained entirely oblivious to his cook's pointed stare.

"So," Usopp said, looking around, "is anyone up for a game?"

"What kind of game?" Ace asked.

"Well, I was thinking cards, since Luffy was asking about it a while ago."

Ace glanced at his younger sibling. "You never learned how to play cards, Lu?"

"Nope."

"Of course not. Sure, we'll play. I don't have much money on me, though."

"That's fine. We shouldn't play with money anyway, since Luffy would probably lose all of his right away."

Nami frowned. "What's wrong with that?"

"You'd just take it, you greedy woman," Zoro drawled, one eye open. He didn't even appear to be fully conscious.

"Take that back, marimo!"

"Make me, love-cook!"

"Well, well," Ace said, shuffling the deck of cards Usopp had passed to him, "they're . . . lively."

"They're always like that," Luffy said. "They're so funny!"

Ace briefly wondered whether Marco and Thatch had been anything like that in their younger days before turning his attention back to teaching Luffy how to play cards. Judging from the way the captain was already twitching, it was going to be a difficult experience.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"How did you even do that, Luffy?" Ace asked blandly, staring at the water where the ashes of the playing cards they'd been using drifted almost serenely.

"I dunno."

Ace sighed and looked at Usopp, who seemed resigned to the fact that he'd just lost an entire deck of cards. "He's nothing but trouble, isn't he?"

"No kidding," Usopp agreed. "I really liked those cards, too . . ."

"And _I'm_ supposed to be the pyromaniac."

Usopp raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Ace opened his mouth to say how he'd gotten the Mera Mera no Mi, and then decided against it. He had to leave some surprises for the future, after all. "Nothing. It's a long story."

"SANJI! MEAT!"

"YOU JUST ATE!"

"I guess I should fish," Usopp muttered. "Or we're going to run out of food."

Ace let the crew carry out its normal tasks and stayed out of the way, finding a position against the portside railing. He lazed in the sun, content to just lay there. After all, Luffy had a crew to captain—though the four crewmembers seemed plenty self-sufficient—and Ace could sense his presence just fine with Observation Haki. It was strangely soothing.

Then again, he could go fishing.

Yeah. That sounded like a better idea.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Bye, Ace!" Luffy called, waving with a huge grin on his face. The rest of the Straw Hats waved as well, calling out their own farewells. Ace returned each with a smile as his boat began to drift farther and farther from the Merry on the current. He wanted to wait until he was out of sight before activating his Devil Fruit powers, or the surprise would be ruined.

Luffy hadn't been surprised or even all that disappointed when Ace had to go; he'd known all along that Ace couldn't stay, and though he'd offered for Ace to join his crew ("Hey, Ace, wanna join my crew?" "Hell no!" "Aw!"), he knew that Ace was set on a different course.

Plus, he and Luffy had never been one for heartfelt farewells, anyway. They separated knowing they would see each other again.

 _"Thank you for loving me!"_

Ace's smile dimmed slightly, but Luffy was too far away to see the expression. There was one farewell that had been something above heartfelt.

It wouldn't be repeated.

Resolve filling his heart, Ace turned his boat and engulfed his feet in flames, sending the craft shooting across the waves.

He had things to do.

* * *

 _A/N Rewatched the Alabasta arc to try to keep the crew's reactions to Ace seeming appropriate, though I scaled them up slightly because time passed between Arlong and Alabasta. For those of you that're wondering, the Straw Hats just recently departed from Arlong Park._

 _Reviews:_

 _Animegirl1279: Ace is going to try to change the future, which you'll see next chapter. It'll become clear, I promise. As for the tutu thing, Ace mentioned it in passing and Little Ace picked up on Ace's disguised horror, so he'd been planning that for a while._

 _Nala1220: It doesn't seem like Ace changes much of anything here, which you may have been expecting or not, but it'll be understandable in the next chapter._

 _ultima-owner: I was wondering if anyone would pick up on Fuun's name. It literally translates (roughly) to unlucky._

 _Frostyfall: Seriously? I saw something like that, but I thought it was referring to how Whitebeard didn't bring any female members of his crew to Marineford. I could be wrong, though. (I remember now, I saw it on the One Piece wiki: "_ For several years, Haruta's gender was unknown to fans . . . However, in an SBS Oda stated that no female members of the Whitebeard Pirates were at the battle of Marineford." _That implies that there are female members, at least to me.)_

 _Next chapter is the last chapter. It feels strange to know I'm actually finishing a story._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


	19. Chapter 19 - Epilogue

_It's short, but it_ is _the epilogue, so whatever. If it seems confusing at first, just roll with it; it'll make sense by the end._

* * *

Chapter 19 - Epilogue

 **The Letter**

 _"I've never been a fan of writing things down. Probably because I learned everything from Sabo, lived with bandits in the mountain forests, and thought that a pirate would never need to know how to write the word 'defenestration' (great word, by the way; if you don't know it already, look it up). Anyway, never liked writing a lot._

 _But here I am. Writing a journal. Because I feel the need to keep one for myself._

 _I can already see Luffy laughing at me._

 _But I digress. Listen up, me—or read more carefully, whichever. I've got limited space in this letter and I intend to use it._

 _First off, that journal I mentioned? Yeah, I can't send it to you. Turns out the birds have a weight limit—or they just don't like me. I mean, I did accidentally cook one of them that one time. But, journal. It's on Banaro Island, buried in the center of town (the exact center). You'll probably find it. You hid it, after all. Technically._

 _Jeez. It's still weird to think about that._

 _Secondly (I think that's a word), I'm not going to be around for much longer. I'm not dying, not really, just . . . fading. I'm not sure how to put it; can't describe it even in my own head. It's weird; I just woke up a few weeks back knowing I'm not going to make it to the end of the year and I was fine with it. I mean, I don't like_ _the idea of—I guess it's dying, in a way—leaving, but I know I'm not really leaving. You're here, after all; you're me. You're the 'me' that's supposed to be here. I'm a rogue element that got thrown into the mix. Even my Devil Fruit seems to recognize that; that power's been fading for years, and it almost feels like I'm splitting its abilities with you, maybe 60-40, with you getting more every day. So . . . I guess I'm saying goodbye. I feel like I need to, you know, after all the shit I got to do again with you and Lu._

 _Thanks for that. No, not just thanks. I can't properly say it; just . . . Thank you. So much. For letting me see Lu again, for accepting me, all that._

 _I'm fading away. Every day the idea gets weirder, and I don't know what my end's going to be like, but there's just one thing left I gotta—no, I need to do before I'm gone. It's not something you know about, and I hope the circumstances around it never come to light. Anyway, I'm headed to Impel Down. Don't worry; I know what I'm doing._

 _What's the worst they can do? Kill me?_

 _Sorry. It's not something I should joke about. Man, that's going to suck._

 _A few more things, though I'll keep it short 'cause I'm running out of space. Watch out for Teach. Don't trust him, no matter what. And when Thatch gets the Yami Yami no Mi, protect him. Watch his back at all hours. It's non-negotiable, got it? You have to protect Thatch. Keep him alive._

 _Don't let him die._

 _But don't let Teach know you know until the very last second. You can't give the game away, or this warning is pointless._

 _When Luffy gets his sorry ass into trouble, watch out for him, okay? I can't, obviously, but you can. You always have. So . . . don't rush to his rescue or anything, but watch out for him. The kid's got drive, and—_

 _How do I put this? I didn't figure it out until the end._

 _He respects you. A lot. Practically idolizes you, really. I was stupid for not noticing it before, for not realizing it. You're Luffy's only remaining family; you're everything to him. He's got his crew, yeah, but you're his brother. That's not a hole easily mended. Don't let him go through anything like that, you hear? Get strong. Stronger than anyone, so Lu won't have to worry._

 _You're his older brother. He depends on you to be strong, and you know he'd do something stupid to save you if you ever got into trouble._

 _Damn, I'm out of space and the bird's giving me the evil eye._

 _Say goodbye to Lu for me,_

 _Ace_

 _P.S. Pay a visit to Alabasta when you get the chance. I hear the weather's nice, and Luffy should be there. You can give him your Vivre Card there. I know you made one for him._

 _P.P.S. The world's full of surprises. I hear the Revolutionaries are particularly full of them._

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

The man formerly known as "Little Ace" by his time-travelling counterpart blinked, a strange wetness lurking in his eyes as he finished the letter and set it down. He clutched a shell in his hand, a shell as bright as flame that had fallen out of the envelope when he had opened it. It was worn smooth by constant handling, but the reds, oranges, and yellows remained bright.

The light in his room was burning low as the moon sat high in the sky above, surrounded by twinkling stars visible through the window in his room. The man looked out the window, a strange expression on his face.

Then the man wiped the tears off his face, set his mouth in a firm line, put the shell in his pocket, and reread the letter as many times as it took to memorize it. Then he burned it, making sure that every ash drifted to the ground and all the words were gone. He had to be absolutely sure that no one else would ever be able to read the letter.

Then he stood, walked away from the desk, and stopped in front of his door.

He grinned.

 **END.**

* * *

 _A/N Done!_

 _Reviews:_

 _ultima-owner: Absolutely nothing._

 _smfan: Nope. I never intended to cover those things from the start; this story is just about Big Ace getting (for lack of a more eloquent phrase) his shit together, which he does by this chapter. I do have another story that's gonna have that confrontation, though._

 _Johnny Spectre: Little Ace is still doing his thing on the Moby Dick (though Teach's betrayal is imminent)._

 _Okay, so, some of you may have finished this and thought, "huh, I should read more stuff like this". If you happen to be one of those people, check out my profile and the other stories I've written about Ace and his various misadventures. Sound good? Awesome._

 _Until we meet again,_

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**

 _P.S. If you guys want a short little thing about future events: Thatch doesn't die, Teach gets his ass kicked by a combination of [Little] Ace and Marco (Little Ace confided in Marco and then later Thatch) and like everyone else when his "strange body" proves a little too resilient, and Thatch locks the Yami Yami no Mi away. Why didn't I write that? Because that's not what this story is about. It's called_ Brotherly Bonds _. Not "Teach Gets his Ass Kicked"_

 _7/6/15 - you guys really want to see Teach get his ass kicked. Check out my other story_ Things Thought Lost _\- there is a guaranteed ass-kicking in it, which may or may not be already posted by the time you read this._


	20. Chapter 20: The Special Extra Chapter

_My God you people really wanted to see Teach get what he deserved. I kind of felt bad for leaving that part out when it's kind of the deciding moment for Ace, so I wrote this._

* * *

Special Extra Chapter

 _(Because you people were so damn insistent)_

Ace saw the Devil Fruit in Thatch's hand. He saw the strangle purple designs that swirled across its surface, saw the green stem sticking up so innocently from the top. It looked harmless. Innocent, even.

But Ace knew better. He casually glanced behind him, to where a man he had trusted until a few weeks ago stood, a sinister grin slowly stretching across his face, replacing the surprised look that had preceded it. If he hadn't been looking for it, Ace knew that he would've completely missed the sudden glimpse into Teach's darker side. But this time he was looking, so he saw it, and he knew. He remembered those written words:

 _"_ _Watch out for Teach."_

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Marco," Ace said, "I need you to trust me. Remember what I told you the other day?"

The first division commander gave his brother a half-lidded stare that didn't hide the look's intensity. "Of course I'll trust you, yoi."

Ace grinned, an indescribable feeling of relief stealing through him now that he had support. "Thank you, Marco."

"Don't thank me yet. Let's go, yoi; it'll probably happen soon."

"You're right."

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

"Do you understand?"

Marco looked at the other assembled commanders. His gaze was piercing, daring them to deny anything he'd said. Izo took charge, his normally immaculate appearance appearing somewhat frayed.

"This is a little hard to believe, Marco. A traitor? Within our family?"

Ace moved to speak, but a glance from Marco stopped him. "Yes, a traitor. If we don't hurry, Thatch will lose his life. Believe me now or believe me later, but help me save our brother now."

The commanders exchanged looks but slowly nodded. Izo let out a breath. "I believe I speak for all of us when I say we'll help. What do we have to do?"

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Teach could barely contain himself. Finally, after years of patiently waiting, after years of hiding himself within a guise, after years of smiles and welcoming gestures, he could leave and cast off the disguise he'd been wearing for so long. He just had to make sure that no one reported his departure and theft before he was too far gone, which meant one thing: the fourth division commander had to die.

"You're lucky I was awake," Thatch was saying conversationally. "Otherwise, you would've had to fix this late-night snack up on your own."

"Of course, of course," Teach agreed, fingering the knife he kept hidden. "Thank you, Commander, I really appreciate this."

Thatch shot him a grin. "It's no problem! I'm happy to help."

Teach made a noise of agreement and tightened his grip on the hilt of his knife. Outside, lightning flashed, signifying the beginning of a storm. It would be the perfect cover for his escape.

He raised the knife high, finding something uniquely satisfying in Thatch's blissful ignorance about his soon-to-be death.

He brought the knife down, aiming for the spot in Thatch's lower back that would prevent him from dodging even if the commander somehow noticed the imminent attack. Either way, the attack would kill him.

Lightning cut through the sky outside, illuminating the scene as Teach's grin widened.

* * *

 **Brotherly Bonds**

* * *

Ace saw everything; he saw Teach casually ask Thatch if the commander could please help him prepare a late night snack, no, really he didn't have to if he didn't want to . . . oh, he would? How kind of him . . .

He wanted to be sick, but he could save that for later. The other commanders were already in position; Teach was far too preoccupied to notice their presences, which worked to Ace's advantage.

 _"_ _You have to protect Thatch. Keep him alive."_

He could do that. He _would_ do that.

The second division commander followed Teach and Thatch silently, practically ghosting across the floorboards. He knew that the other commanders wanted proof of Teach's treachery, so he was forced to wait in agonizing silence while Teach and Thatch exchanged words. Then he saw Teach pull out the knife, and his focus narrowed to that silver blade. It went up, up, up . . .

Lightning flashed. The knife went down—so fast—but Ace was lunging forward, arm outstretched, and he grabbed Teach's wrist, stopping the blade inches from Thatch's spine.

Fire blazed from Ace's back, and whether it was intentional or not, the flames highlighted his Whitebeard tattoo and shadowed his face, making him look all the more intimidating.

"Thatch, run!" Ace ordered, roughly kicking the fourth division commander away. He would apologize for that later, but right now Thatch was Teach's target and the only one in the dark and there was a chance he would unintentionally get in the way. Sure enough, Thatch was staring, Ace's words either unheard or unheeded.

"Commander Ace!" Teach greeted, confusion clear in his eyes that was quickly replaced with cunning. No doubt the traitor was trying to think of a way out of the situation. "I didn't expect you to be up so late tonight!"

"Neither did I," Ace replied tightly. He twisted his grip and threw Teach to the floor with some effort, the knife skittering out of the bigger man's hand with the shock of the impact. "What were you going to do with that knife, huh?"

Teach kept some semblance of his composure despite the situation. "Nothing at all, I was merely—"

"Cut the bullshit, Teach," Marco said, stepping out of the shadows and standing next to Ace, his eyes blazing with anger at a level he had never felt before. "You were about to kill Thatch. You were about to betray your brother—no, not just your brother. You were going to betray your entire family."

Ace could see it in Teach's eyes; the man was quickly realizing that his chances of getting away were growing slimmer and slimmer. He would try to run, but—

"Don't move, Teach," Jozu ordered, walking down the hallway. His presence made Teach freeze.

"Unless you want a bullet between the eyes," Izo added, emerging from a nearby doorway, his pistols trained firmly on Teach's heart and forehead.

"Or a sword in the gut," Haruta said, his normally childlike features looking as though they were chiseled from stone.

"Guys, what's going on?" Thatch asked, but he was ignored. The commanders were well aware that Teach was a threat; he had been up for the position of second division commander for a reason, and it wasn't just because of the length of time he'd been with the crew.

"Commanders, I really don't know what to say," Teach said, his eyes scanning the hallway for any avenue of escape.

Ace stared at him. He recalled the way his older self had looked when he was talking with Thatch—how indescribably happy yet inexplicably sad he had been—and he remembered the almost relieved look on his face when his family accepted him once again.

He didn't know what his other self had gone through, but he wouldn't let it happen again.

Ace's eyes glittered with murderous intent and his hand lit up, the flames reaching new heights in temperature.

"It's over, Teach. You're finished."

And Ace took savage pleasure in the sight of Teach's dreams breaking into pieces. Ace broke them himself, without even the slightest glimmer of regret or remorse. The other commanders did nothing to stop Ace as he demonstrated to Teach just why he had such an incredibly high bounty—and why he had accepted Whitebeard's mark.

Blood splattered on the wooden planks, but this time, it didn't belong to Thatch.

By the end of the night—one that Ace was tempted to call the longest of his life—Teach had been placed in the capable hands of the other commanders and was awaiting sentencing from Whitebeard, the final authority on these matters. There was no doubt in Ace's mind that Teach was going to die, and he was strangely fine with that, even after all they had been through together.

He sat in bed, hair still damp from his recent shower.

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

 _"Nice job, kid."_

He glanced up, but there was no one there. Still, he recognized that voice, and smiled softly.

"I'm not a kid anymore," he muttered. "You of all people should know that, Old Timer."

Outside, the storm that had been brewing for the past few days raged, but Ace wasn't bothered by it in the slightest.

* * *

 _A/N If you haven't already guessed, Big Ace was the one saying "Nice job, kid." How did he do that? Beats me. He's Ace._

 _Reviews:_

 _Nala1220: There won't be a sequel, though I appreciate your enthusiasm. Consider this the sequel._

 _Animegirl1279: And like magic . . ._

 _Guest: I changed things around, so hopefully that bit makes more sense now._

 _Johnny Spectre:_ I'm _lazy._

 _OnePieceDoesExist: Would you like this chapter gift-wrapped or in a festive bag? And I'm glad you liked it!_

 _NikZkinE: Nah. Too lazy. But I did write this._

 _LittleChomper: Well . . ._

 _artemis: adlfjdlsakfh that's so nice! Thank you for the kind words!_

 _Okay, this time, the story's really done. Finished. Over. Ended. There will be nothing else._

 _-RoR_

 ** _Please review._**


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